Q uezon 


The  Filipino  Peop) 

Justice 


DS685 
.Q  5 


.0,5 


DEC  HI  1913 


THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE  ASK  JUSTICE 


SPEECH 


HON.  MANUEL  L.  QUEZON 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 


FEBRUARY  13,  1913 


X' 


83GS3— 11SG7 


WASHINGTON 

1013 


i 


SPEECH 

OF 

IION.  MANUEL  L.  QUEZON. 


The  House  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the 
Union  had  under  consideration  the  hill  (II.  It.  2S607)  making  appro- 
priations for  the  Diplomatic  and  Consular  Service  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30.  1914. 

Mr.  QUEZON1.  Mr.  Chairman,  after  listening  to  two  of  the 
most  brilliant  gentlemen  in  this  House  for  nearly  two  hours 
speaking  with  absolute  self-assurance  of  the  country  where  I 
was  born  and  have  lived  all  my  life,  I feel  that  I have  lost  my 
country  because  I can  not  hud  it.  I do  not  recognize  from  their 
description  the  Archipelago  of  the  Philippines,  nor  can  I 
identify  in  what  they  have  said  the  Filipino  people — my  own 
people.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  harbor  the  slightest  thought  of 
charging  these  wise  and  distinguished  gentlemen  with  deliberate 
purpose  to  misinform  the  House.  I know  them  both  well  and 
have  for  neither  anything  but  the  highest  regard  and  respect. 
They  have  merely  conveyed  to  the  House  in  the  very  best  of 
faith  their  own  misinformation. 

Some  time  ago  I heard  the  story  of  a friar  who  lived  for  70 
years  and  then  died  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 

As  a preacher  he  went  from  town  to  town  mingling  with  the 
people  of  all  classes,  living  with  them  in  their  own  houses  and 
eating  their  food.  He  spoke  their  language.  With  all  these 
opportunities  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  Filipino  people  for  the  purpose  of  writing  a book 
on  this  subject.  When  he  died  a large  volume  was  found  in  his 
bedroom  inscribed  with  these  words,  “ My  Knowledge  of  the 
Filipino  People.”  Those  who  first  saw  the  book  were  greatly 
pleased.  Knowing  the  qualifications  of  the  author,  they  an- 
ticipated that  the  work  would  be  a valuable  contribution  to 
knowledge.  There  would  appear,  they  thought,  with  its  lights 
and  shadows,  the  life  of  a new  country.  Eagerly  they  opened 
the  volume.  But  what  a disappointment!  Not  a line  was 
written  there.  And  yet  in  those  blank  pages  spoke  plainly  as 
well  as  eloquently  the  wisdom  of  a student.  That  is  one  story. 
Here  is  another  in  contrast  to  it.  There  are  gentlemen  who  de- 
vote o,  10,  or  even  30  minutes  of  their  time  to  reading  a small 
part  of  a report.  At  most  they  will  make  a flying  trip  through 
the  islands  for  10,  15,  or  30  days,  admire  the  beautiful  scenery 
of  my  country,  “take  a look”  at  my  people,  without  mingling 
with  them,  without  listening  to  the  words  that  their  hearts  and 
their  minds  would  speak,  and  then  proceed  to  say,  “ I know  all 
about  the  Philippines.”  [Applause  and  laughter.] 

And  they  want  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  take  them  as  authori- 
ties on  things  Philippine.  It  is  often  true  that  after  we  have 
read  something  in  print  about  a country  or  have  seen  a part 
of  it.  we  feel  satisfied  that  we  may  with  authority  speak  of 
83683—11867  3 


4 


that  country.  When  we  do  so  speak,  when  in  speaking  we  use 
our  own  language,  our  mastery  of  a tongue  which  we  have 
used  from  our  childhood  gives  the  advantage  of  presenting  our 
ideas  so  brilliantly  that  we  impress  our  audience  with  the 
belief  that  we  really  know  of  what  we  are  talking.  [Laughter 
and  applause.] 

Ah,  Mr.  Cliaiisman,  you  may  read  the  history  of  a country 
and  learn  it  by  heart.  You  may  know  its  statistics;  the  extent 
of  the  population ; what  proportion  of  its  people  can  read  and 
write,  and  how  many  can  speak  this,  that,  or  the  other  language; 
how  much  they  sell  and  produce;  but  to  know  the  people,  their 
characteristics,  capabilities,  and  shortcomings,  is  not  necessarily 
to  know  their  numbers,  their  literacy,  or  their  internal  or  foreign 
trade.  To  know  a people  you  must  not  only  live  with  them  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  share  their  feelings,  possess  a sympathy  for 
their  aspirations,  and,  most  important  of  all,  be  broad  minded 
enough  to  abandon  race  prejudice  and  fixed  views  on  the  su- 
periority of  one  civilization  over  another.  You  must  be  so  ^ 
elastic  as  to  take  the  place  of  those  whom  you  are  studying, 
and  from  their  points  of  view  consider  their  life  and  deeds. 
This  is  emphatically  true  in  the  case  of  any  occidental  country 
when  studied  by  an  occidental.  But  it  is  very  much  more  true 
in  the  case  of  an  oriental  people  because  of  the  infinitely  greater 
difficulty  an  occidental  finds  in  knowing  them.  There  is  not  as 
yet  any  American  who  has  the  qualifications  I have  mentioned 
to  express  an  opinion  about  the  Philippines.  The  high  author- 
ities on  things  Philippine  cited  by  the  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania [Mr.  Olmsted]  are,  as  we  shall  demonstrate  presently, 
altogether  lacking  in  those  qualifications. 

Mr.  TOWNSEND.  Mr.  Chairman,  will  the  geutleman  yield? 

Mr.  QUEZON.  Certainly. 

Mr.  TOWNSEND.  How  many  years  did  the  gentleman  from 
New  York  [Mr.  Redfield]  live  in  the  Philippine  Islands? 

Mr.  QUEZON.  I understand  he  went  there  on  a short  trip — • 
perhaps  a month. 

Mr.  TOWNSEND.  Only  one  month? 

Mr.  QUEZON.  Yes. 

Mr.  TOWNSEND.  Oh,  I thought  he  had  lived  there  for  some 
years. 

Mr.  QUEZON.  Oh,  never. 

Mr.  MURRAY.  Will  the  gentleman  tell  us  how  long  the  geu- 
tleman from  Virginia  [Mr.  Jones]  was  there? 

Mr.  QUEZON.  Mr.  Chairman,  what  I say  about  the  Philip- 
pines and  the  Filipinos  is  not  based  upon  the  authority  of  the 
gentleman  from  Virginia;  it  is  based  upon  my  own  authority.  I 
want  to  tell  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Murray] 
that  I was  bom  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  that  I have  lived 
there  all  of  my  life,  that  I have  studied  my  country,  and  that  I 
have  studied  my  people.  I have  devoted  my  life  to  their  serv- 
ice, and  I shall  do  so  as  long  as  God  gives  me  breath.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

Having  said  so  much  by  way  of  introduction.  I shall  now 
proceed  to  answer  specifically  the  statements  of  the  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  [Mr.  Olmsted]  and  the  gentleman  from 
New  York  [Mr.  Redfield],  But  let  us  remember,  lest  it  may 
be  forgotten,  that  the  geutleman  from  Pennsylvania  has  ad- 
mitted, in  answer  to  a question  I put  to  him  in  the  course 
of  his  remarks,  that  he  has  never  been  in  the  Philippines,  and 
83G83— 118G7 


5 


lie  will  admit,  I think,  that  he  has  not  devoted  a great  deal  of 
liis  time  to  the  study  of  Philippine  questions.  As  for  the  gen- 
tleman from  New  York,  his  personal  knowledge  can  not  be 
more  than  “ impressions  ” obtained  from  a short  and  flying 
trip  which  he  has  made  to  the  islands. 

Curiously  enough,  the  statements  made  and  arguments  pre- 
sented by  both  of  these  gentlemen  are  in  cases  similar  and  in 
others  absolutely  identical.  With  only  two  exceptions,  to  which 
I shall  presently  refer,  the  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  New 
York  is  either  textually  or  in  thought  contained  in  the  speech 
of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania.  This  last  being  the  more 
extensive  and  elaborate  of  the  two,  I shall  address  myself 
mainly  to  it. 

PHILIPPINE  INDEPENDENCE  BILL. 

The  first  part  of  the  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania was  devoted  to  a brief  discussion  of  the  bill  now  pend- 
ing before  the  House,  H.  It.  22143,  entitled  "A  bill  to  estab- 
lish a qualified  independent  government  for  the  Philippines  and 
to  fix  the  date  when  such  qualified  independence  shall  .become 
absolute  and  complete,  and  for  other  purposes.” 

He  calls  this  bill  “ remarkable  and  dangerous.”  I shall  not 
occupy  the  time  of  the  House  at  present  in  discussing  the  merits 
of  this  bill.  I hope  it  will  soon  be  brought  up  for  discussion, 
and  with  all  the  power  at  my  command  I shall  then  support 
it.  Just  now  I wish  merely  to  say  that  the  people  of  the 
Philippines  have  approved  it.  The  Philippine  Assembly,  on  De- 
cember 10,  1912,  passed  a resolution  unanimously  indorsing  it, 
which  in  part  is  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Philippine  Assembly,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
assembly  that  the  Jones  bill  contains  those  provisions  which  confirm 
and  ratify  conclusively  the  demands  of  the  people,  based  on  their 
present  capacity  to  govern  themselves,  and  that  it  is  its  sense  that  said 
bill  completely  closes  the  indefinite,  absurd,  and  notoriously  unpopular 
period  of  apprenticeship,  against  which  the  people  have  been  protesting 
to  this  day,  the  Filipino  Government  created  by  said  bill  being  given 
only  the  time  necessary  for  studying,  continuing,  and  completing  the 
fundamental  organization  of  the  Filipino  republic  ; 

Resolved  further.  That  the  Congress  and  the  President  of  the  United 
States  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  petitioned  through  the  Philippine  Resi- 
dent Commissioners  in  Washington  to  approve  the  Jones  bill  at  this 
regular  session  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  ; 

Resolved  further.  That  in  case  the  Jones  hill  can  not  he  approved 
during  said  session  the  new  President  of  the  United  States  he,  and  he 
hereby  is,  petitioned  that  if  a special  session  of  Congress  is  called  he 
recommend  to  it  in  his  message  the  consideration  of  the  aforesaid 
hill ; and 

Resolved,  finally,  That  copies  of  this  resolution  be  forwarded  to  the 
Resident  Commissioners,  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate,  and 
the  President  of  the  United  States. 

I bave  also  in  my  possession  copies  of  the  resolutions  passed 
by  every  municipality  in  the  archipelago  indorsing  this  hill. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  BILL. 

I do  not  doubt  that  certain  provisions  of  the  bill  may  be 
improved.  In  fact,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Filipino  people,  it 
could,  and  would  be  improved  by  shortening  the  time  within 
which  absolute  independence  shall  be  granted.  But  the  essential 
thing  which  makes  the  bill  popular  among  the  Filipinos  is  that 
it  is  a signal  change  from  an  indefinite,  ambiguous,  and  ob- 
noxious policy  to  an  open,  frank,  and  honest  pledge  of  Philip- 
pine independence  within  a reasonable  time  and  under  wise 
safeguards. 

830S3 — 118G7 


G 


DR.  SCHCRMAX  OX  TIIE  IXDEPENDEXCE  BILL. 

As  it  may  interest  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  to  read 
the  opinion  of  President  Scliurman,  of  Cornell  University,  on 
this  bill,  I shall  print  it  in  connection  with  my  remarks.  Presi- 
dent Schurman,  a Republican  like  the  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania [Mr.  Olmsted],  has  had  the  advantage — that  the  latter 
lias  not  had — of  knowing  the  Filipino  people  by  personal  con- 
tact, for  he  was  in  the  Philippines  a much  longer  time  than 
the  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Redfield],  and  was  charged, 
as  chairman  of  the  first  Philippine  Commission  appointed  by 
President  McKinley,  with  the  duty  of  investigating  the  condi- 
tions in  the  Philippines.  Here  is  President  Schurman's  opinion  : 

I think  no  honest  mind  can  carefully  and  impartially  study  this  bill 
without  recognizing  it  as  a great  piece  of  constructive  statesmanship. 
It  conserves  the  best  interests  both  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
and  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  while  at  the  same  time  it 
expresses  loyalty  to  their  highest  political  ideals  and  aspirations.  And 
it  minimizes  the  risk  which  is  inseparable  from  every  great  legislative 
measure  by  establishing  a period  of  probation  and  experiment  before  the 
final  policy  is  irrevocably  realized. 

PERIOD  OF  ILLUSION  IS  OVER. 

The  period  of  illusion  with  regard  to  American  sovereignty  over  the 
Philippine  Islands  has  passed  away.  That  sovereignty  is  no  longer 
regarded  by  the  American  people  as  an  advantage  ; they  now  know  that 
in  annexing  the  Philippines  they  assumed  a heavy  burden  and  a grave 
responsibility.  This  is  not  to  say  that  the  course  followed  by  our 
Government  in  1898  aud  1899  was  not  the  right  course.  I for  one 
believe  that  no  other  policy  could  at  that  time  have  been  properly  aud 
safely  adopted.  But  the  question  before  us  to-day  concerns  not  only 
our  doings  in  the  past,  but  our  proposals  for  the  present  and  the  future. 
What  shall  we  do  with  the  Philippine  Islands  over  which,  as  a matter 
of  fact.  American  sovereignty  now  extends?  They  are  not  of  financial 
advantage  to  the  t'nited  States,  but  a disadvantage  and  a burden.  And 
the  continued  enforcement  of  our  sovereignty  upon  7.000,000  civilized 
and  Christian  Filipinos  is  a defiance  of  their  aspirations  and  a viola- 
tion of  our  own  political  ideals  and  traditions. 

The  American  people  have  never  declared  that  they  proposed  to  retain 
permanent  control  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  (in  the  contrary,  I 
believe  it  is  the  desire  and  the  intention  of  the  American  people  to 
relinquish  sovereignty  over  the  Philippine  Archipelago  just  as  soon  as 
the  Filipinos  express  their  desire  for  independence  and  show  their 
capacity  for  exercising  it.  The  people  of  t lie  Philippine  Islands  have 
already  unanimously  and  repeatedly  expressed  their  desire  for  inde- 
pendence. Their  participation  in  the  government  of  the  islands  since 
their  cession  to  the  United  States  strikingly  evinces  their  capacity  for 
self-government.  But  in  order  that  further  demonstration  may  be 
afforded,  the  bill  under  consideration  proposes  to  give  them  the  exclu- 
sive management  of  their  own  affairs,  subject  to  veto  of  their  legisla- 
tion either  by  the  President  or  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  for  a 
period  of  eight  years  during  which,  while  the  president  of  the  Philip- 
pine Itepublic  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  all  other  officials  of  government — legisla- 
tive. executive,  and  judicial — shall  be  elected  or  appointed  by  the  Fili- 
pinos themselves  err  their  duly  constituted  authorities.  And  dining 
this  probationary  period  all  treaties  and  commercial  conventions  which 
the  Philippine  Government  proposes  to  make  with  foreign  powers  shall 
be  submitted  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  aud  by  him  to  the 
Senate  for  their  approval. 

JOXES  BILL  COVERS  ALL  POINTS. 

Wise  and  statesmanlike  legislation  takes  account  not  only  of  princi- 
ples, but  also  of  circumstances  and  actual  conditions.  The  present  bill 
admirably  satisfies  this  test.  If  there  are  any  advantages  accruing  to 
til"  T'nited  States  from  the  exercise  of  sovereignty  over  the  Philippine 
Islands,  this  bill  provides  that  those  advantages  shall  be  retained  by  the 
United  States  after  the  islands  have  become  independent.  Americans 
are  to  have  freedom  of  travel  and  access  in  the  Philippines  for  business, 
pleasure,  or  missionary  purposes.  And  they  are  to  be  protected  and  to 
enjoy  the  same  advantages  as  shall  be  furnished  the  Filipinos  them- 
selves. No  higher  tax  shall  be  levied  upon  their  property,  merchandise, 
or  business  than  that  payable  by  the  Filipinos  themselves  under  like 
83C83 — 118G7 


7 


circumstances.  No  citizens  of  other  countries  are  ever  to  enjoy  greater 
trade  or  other  advantages  in  the  Philippine  Islands  than  those  accorded 
to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Of  course,  the  Government  of  the 
Philippines  is  to  assume  and  carry  into  effect  the  treaty  obligations  con- 
tracted by  the  United  States  with  the  Kingdom  of  Spain  in  relation  to 
the  Philippine  Islands.  Important  as  these  safeguards  are,  they  do  not 
complete  the  story.  The  most  important  provision  is  still  to  be  men- 
tioned. The  bill  provides  that  the  United  States  are  to  have  and  retain 
control,  ownership,  and  complete  sovereignty  over  such  lands  and  har- 
borage waters  as  the  American  Government  may  deem  necessary  for 
coaling  and  naval  stations  and  for  terminal  facilities  for  cables. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  under  the  terms  of  this  bill  all  results  that  may 
be  desired  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  accomplished.  In  the 
first  place,  the  people  of  the  United  States  relieve  themselves  of  the 
expense  of  maintaining  a large  army  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and 
escape  the  grave  danger  of  being  involved  in  war  on  their  account.  In 
the  second  place,  they  show  fidelity  and  loyalty  to  their  own  political 
ideals  and  institutions  by  recognizing  the  right  of  the  Filipinos  to  gov- 
ern themselves.  In  the  third  place,  while  relieving  themselves  of  the 
burden  of  sovereignty  over  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  American  people 
retain  all  the  advantages  of  commerce  and  intercourse  which  ordi- 
narily go  with  sovereignty.  And  in  the  fourth  place,  the  strategical 
advantage  which  sovereignty  over  the  Philippines  is  supposed  to  have 
conferred  upon  the  United  States  is  not  lost  or  even  impaired  with  the 
independence  of  the  islands,  for  this  bill  grants  in  perpetuity  to  the 
United  States  the  right  to  retain  control,  ownership,  and  complete  sov- 
ereignty over  such  lands  and  harborage  waters  as  are  actually  necessary 
for  coaling  and  naval  stations  and  convenient  terminal  points  for  cables. 

There  is  another  respect  in  which  this  bill  shows  not  only  loyalty  to 
principle  but  regard  for  sentiment  and  even  prejudices.  I believe'  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  the  American  people  desire  to  see  the  Philip- 
pine people  sovereign  masters  of  their  own  destiny  ; they  will  not,  how- 
ever, on  any  condition,  admit  the  Philippines  as  a State  to  the  American 
Union;  they  would  like,  on  the  other  hand,  to  see  the  Filipinos  a self- 
governing,  independent,  and  sovereign  nation.  If,  however,  they  are 
asked  to  grant  the  Filipinos  their  independence,  these  same  American 
people  draw  back  and  hesitate  on  the  ground  that  the  Filipinos  may 
not  be  able  to  govern  themselves. 

CAPACITY  OP  FILIPINOS. 

Unfortunately,  interested  parties,  hostile  to  the  best  interests  and 
aspirations  of  the  Filipinos,  have  misrepresented  to  the  American  people 
their  character,  capacity,  and  conditions.  Many,  even  well-informed 
Americans,  have  therefore  come  to  believe  that  the  Philippine  popula- 
tion is  made  up  largely  of  savages  and  barbarians  who  are  steeped  in 
ignorance  and  who  would  be  at  one  another’s  throats  if  the  restraints 
of  American  power  were  removed.  But  the  census  taken  by  the  Amer- 
icans themselves  shows  that  of  the  7,635,000  Filipinos  in  the  archi- 
pelago in  1903,  0,987,000  were  civilized  and  only  647,000  wild  or 
uncivilized. 

These  civilized  Filipinos  are  the  only  Christian  nation  in  the  Orient. 
I have  often  said  that  in  culture,  education,  capacity,  and  governing 
ability  the  Filipinos  may  be  compared  with  the  people  of  Latin  America. 
If  they  were  granted  their  independence,  they  would  not  at  once  become 
a great  nation,  like  the  Argentine  Kepublic  or  Brazil,  but  they  would,  in 
my  opinion,  take  fair  rank  with  the  smaller  countries  of  Central  and 
South  America.  They  have  had  the  same  sort  of  tutelage  and  training 
as  the  South  American  people.  That  is,  they  derive  their  civilization 
and  religion  and  ideas  of  law  and  government  from  Spain.  But  in  the 
case  of  the  Filipinos  there  is  the  additional  favoring  circumstance  that 
for  13  years  they  have  now  been  under  the  beneficent  tutelage  of  the 
United  States,  and  during  this  period  they  have  had  much  experience 
in  local  self-government,  and  the  blessings  of  education  have  been  widely 
diffused  all  over  the  archipelago.  The  report  of  the  secretary  of  educa- 
tion for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1911,  shows  that  the  public-school 
enrollment  for  that  year  was  610,493,  while  the  number  of  public 
schools  in  operation  was  4,404  and  the  number  of  teachers  9,086,  of 
whom  8,403,  or  over  92  per  cent,  were  Filipinos. 

PROBATIONARY  PERIOD  MEETS  ALL  OBJECTIONS. 

The  bill,  however,  recognizes  that  there  is  no  complete  answer  to  the 
doubt  felt  by  so  many  people  in  the  United  States  regarding  the 
capacity  of  the  Filipinos  to  govern  themselves  short  of  the  answer  of 
actual  demonstration.  It  is  proposed,  therefore,  that  there  shall  be  a 
probationary  period  of  self-government  and  sovereignty  during  a period 
of  eight  years,  qualified  by  a veto  right  in  the  President  and  Congress 
of  the  United  States.  This  will  give  the  Filipinos  ample  opportunity  to 
83683—11807 


8 


demonstrate  their  capacity  to  manage  their  own  affairs.  It  will  also  be 
for  them  a school  of  constantly  enlarging  self-government,  finally  ex- 
panding itself  to  independent  and  sovereign  self-government.  And  when 
on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1921.  the  full  and  complete  independence  of  the 
Philippines  shall  he  acknowledged,  the  United  States  will  thereafter 
have  no  responsibilities  for  the  affairs  of  the  Philippine  people,  and 
will  have  no  obligation  to  defend  them  either  against  foreign  invasion 
or  internal  disorder.  The  large  army  that  we  now  maintain  in  the  Phil- 
ippines can  he  called  home.  The  danger  of  Asiatic  complications  will  be 
greatly  reduced. 

But  can  the  Philippine  Bepublic  stand  alone?  The  Filipinos,  who  are 
the  best  judges  of  the  matter,  think  it  can.  If  they  are  mistaken,  the 
penalty  falls  on  them  and  not  on  us.  And  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  recent  events  in  Asia  make  for  the  immunity  of  the  Filipinos.  A 
republic  has  been  established  in  China,  devoted  to  peace  and  modern 
civilization;  if  it  fights  at  all,  it  will  be  in  defense,  not  for  purposes  of 
aggression.  Furthermore,  Japan’s  victories  both  over  China  and  Rnssia 
have  shifted  its  center  of  gravity  from  the  islands  confronting  the  coast 
of  Asia  to  the  mainland.  Its  development  for  the  future  is  not  through 
the  islands  southward  by  way  of  Formosa,  but  on  the  mainland  west- 
ward through  Korea  and  Manchuria.  And  while  Asiatic  nations  are 
thus  drawn  away  from  the  Philippine  Islands,  there  seems  to  be  no 
European  nation  which  would  have  special  interest  in  annexation. 

NEUTRALIZATION  DESIRABLE. 

The  bill,  however,  proposes  to  give  the  Filipinos  the  best  possible  op- 
portunity for  maintaining  their  independence  and  national  sovereignty, 
and  an  effective  means  of  protection  is  at  hand.  How  are  the  integrity 
and  independence  of  Switzerland  and  Belgium  maintained  ? As  every- 
one knows,  they  are  maintained  by  international  neutralization.  The 
bill  accordingly  provides  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  shall 
open  negotiations  with  foreign  Governments,  including  those  of  Great 
Britain,  Germane,  France,  Russia.  Japan,  and  Spain,  with  a view  to 
securing  the  neutrality  of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  the  recognition  of 
their  independence  through  international  agreement. 

I repeat,  finally,  that  this  bill  offers  the  wisest,  justest,  and  most 
statesmanlike  solution  of  the  Philippine  problem  which  has  yet  been 
presented.  It  conserves  all  the  material  interests  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  and  the  islands.  It  embodies  the  political  ideals  of  the 
American  people  and  responds  to  the  ardent  aspirations  of  the  people  of 
the  Philippines.  Had  such  a measure  been  enacted  into  law  earlier  the 
United  States  would  have  had  the  honor  and  eternal  glory  of  establish- 
ing the  first  republic  in  the  Continent  of  Asia.  Now  that  the  Chinese 
people  have  anticipated  our  action,  we  ought  not  to  delay  in  responding 
to  their  challenge  to  set  up  beside  the  big  Bepublic  of  China  the  neigh- 
boring Republic  of  the  Philippines.  But  whatever  any  other  nation 
may  do  or  not  do.  justice,  honor,  and  true  Americanism  combine  with 
national  self-interest  and  expediency  in  prescribing  that  we  should, 
without  delay,  permit  the  Filipinos  to  govern  themselves  and  to  set  up 
within  the  next  few  years  an  independent  and  sovereign  Philippine 
Republic. 

Jacob  Gould  Schurmax. 

PHILIPPINE  EXPLOITATION. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  under  the  heading  “ The 
Philippines  not  a bad  bargain,”  spoke  of  the  islands  as  “ very 
rich  possessions,”  and  said  that  “ if  Germany  or  Japan  or  any 
other  foreign  nation  possessed  them  they  would  never  let  them 
go.”  Then  he  proceeded  to  enumerate  the  number  of  acres  of 
rich  soil  in  the  Philippines,  to  estimate  how  much  population 
they  could  support,  and  to  sketch  their  imports  aud  exports. 
He  ends  his  tale  with  this  suggestive  remark: 

Think  of  the  vast  possibilities  if  these  people  (the  Filipinos)  were 
taught  modern  methods  and  the  use  of  modern  implements  so  as  to 
make  the  most  of  their  land,  and  think  of  the  vast  trade  and  of  the 
vast  market  for  our  products  when  those  islands  shall  become  more 
densely  populated,  as  they  are  destined  to  be  when  intelligent  methods 
of  agriculture  shall  prevail  over  their  notv  untouched  millions  of 
acres. 

I am  glad  to  find  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  treading 
in  this  path.  For  once  I am  face  to  face  with  the  argument 
that  independence  should  never  be  granted  to  tbe  Philippines 
for  reasons  very  much  at  variance  with  altruistic  purposes.  It 
83083— 11807 


9 


is  true  that  after  saying  all  this  the  gentleman  hastens  to  dis- 
claim any  purpose  of  “making  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  per- 
manent retention  of  the  Philippines,”  and  I believe  he  is  honest; 
but  the  gentleman  can  not  escape  from  the  logical  conclusion  of 
his  discourse,  namely,  that  the  Philippines  should  forever  be  re- 
tained under  the  control  of  the  United  States  on  the  ground  that 
it  i till  pay.  For  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  in  showing 
that  the  Philippines  are  not  a bad  bargain,  put  his  stress  not  so 
much  upon  what  they  produce  now  as  upon  what  they  may  pro- 
duce later  on.  " Think  of  the  vast  possibilities,”  he  says,  “ if 
these  people,”  and  so  forth.  I ask  the  gentleman,  If  the  Philip- 
pines ought  to  be  kept  under  American  control  now  because  of 
what  they  may  purchase  from  and  sell  to  the  United  States  when 
they  shall  become  more  densely  populated  and  developed,  will  he 
let  them  go  then  when  they  have  actually  attained  the  state  that 
he  is  predicting? 

The  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  PedfieldI,  in  an  article 
entitled  “A  suggested  Democratic  policy,”  which  he  wrote  for 
the  National  Monthly  Magazine,  has  also  spoken  of  these  un- 
told possibilities  for  investment  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  I 
do  not  believe  that  either  of  these  gentlemen  look  upon  the 
Philippine  problem  from  the  standpoint  of  dollars  and  cents. 
.And  if  it  were  only  a question  of  arguing  with  them,  I should 
leave  this  phase  of  the  question  wholly  untouched,  for  I do 
not  understand  how  in  a matter  like  this,  where  the  rights  of 
8,000,000  human  beings  are  at  stake,  the  imports  and  exports 
of  a country  could  have  any  bearing  or  exert  any  influence  upon 
the  decision  one  way  or  the  other. 

There  are.  however,  some  people  in  this  country  whose  hos- 
tility to  Philippine  independence  is  dictated  by  the  profits  they 
are  making  or  expect  to  make  out  of  the  present  relationship 
between  the  Philippines  and  the  United  States.  Who  would  care 
to  deny  that  the  Philippines  have  been  so  far  a good  bargain  for 
those  who  have  purchased  Philippine  Government  bonds  at  the 
guaranteed  rate  of  4 per  cent  interest ; those  who  own  our  rail- 
roads and  to  whom  the  Philippine  Government  guarantees  4 per 
cent  profit  on  every  dollar  they  invest;  those  who  are  benefited 
by  the  rebate  on  our  hemp  exported  to  the  United  States;  and 
those  who,  in  spite  of  the  positive  injunction  of  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, have  been  able  to  acquire,  hold,  and  exploit  Vast  tracts 
of  our  sugar  lands?  Of  course,  these  interests  will  leave  no 
stone  unturned  to  oppose  Philippine  independence,  but  they  do 
not  disclose  the  real  motive  that  underlies  their  conduct. 
Theirs  is  not  the  voice  of  conquest,  of  greed,  of  territorial 
aggrandizement.  When  they  appeal  to  the  American  people 
for  the  retention  of  the  Philippines  they  always  do  so  in 
the  name  of  justice  and  of  sympathy  for  the  poor,  ignorant 
Filipinos  who  are  badly  in  need  of  American  rule.  Will 
the  American  people  listen  to  this  hypocritical  cry?  Shall 
the  American  people  longer  continue  to  bear  a burden  that 
entails  the  expense  of  an  increasing  Army,  the  building  of  for- 
tifications, the  enlarging  of  the  Navy,  merely  to  allow  men  who, 
not  content  with  exploiting  their  own  brothers  at  home,  wish 
to  control  the  lands  and  opportunities  of  another  country  which 
have  been  given  by  the  will  of  God  to  the  inhabitants  thereof 
for  their  own  use?  This  is  but  another  phase  of  the  great  battle 
which  is  being  waged  by  the  American  people  against  predatory 
836S3— 11867 


10 

wealth.  It  is  the  old  conflict  between  the  rights  of  man  and 
the  insatiable  greed  of  gain. 

THE  PHILIPPINES  A WHITE  ELEPHANT. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I have  no  quarrel  with  any  man  who  chooses  to 
oppose  Philippine  independence  because  he  thinks  that  it  is  to 
his  own  interest,  or  to  the  interest  of  his  own  country,  to  keep 
the  islands  in  subjection.  It  is  but  human  that  when  our  own 
interests  are  at  stake  that  we  should  look  after  them.  It  is 
#our  duty — the  duty  of  every  man — to  care  for  the  interests  of 
his  own  country.  But,  I assert,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  the  pos- 
session of  the  Philippines  by  the  United  States  is  in  no  respect 
to  the  interest  of  the  American  people:  and  that  when  once  the 
present  generation  of  Filipinos  is  convinced  that  it  may  not 
look  forward  to  its  freedom  within  its  lifetime,  such  control  will 
not  be  profitable  even  to  the  private  interests  I have  indicated. 

PROFITLESS  EXPENSE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 

The  American  people  must  lose  by  it,  because  the  retention 
of  the  islands  means  more  Army,  more  fortifications,  and  more 
Navy,  all  of  which  involves  increase  in  national  expenditures. 
How  much,  may  I ask.  has  the  average  American  gained  from 
the  possession  of  the  Philippines?  Nothing.  Outside  of  those 
who  are  employed  in  the  Philippine  service  or  have  capital  in- 
vested in  the  Philippines  no  other  American  gets  any  benefit. 
And  how  much,  after  all.  do  these  few  privileged  Americans 
gain?  Not  even  a score  of  millions  a year.  Yet  the  Philippines 
cost  the  people  of  the  United  States  10  years  ago,  according  to 
the  late  Senator  Hoar,  as  well  informed  a man  as  any  who  ever 
sat  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  and  who  was  as  good 
a Republican  as  the  best,  not  less  than  $600,000,000.  The  gen- 
tleman from  Virginia  [Mr.  Jones]  said  a few  days  ago  in  this 
House,  and  proved  it,  that  they  are  now  costing  the  United 
States  $40,000,000  yearly.  These  figures  have  not  been  contro- 
verted by  our  adversaries,  save  only  one  insignificant  item. 

FORTHCOMING  LOSS  TO  THE  “ INTERESTS.” 

As  for  the  capitalists  who  have  money  invested  in  the  islands 
let  them  consider  what  they  are  doing  before  they  commit  this 
country  to  a policy  of  permanent  or  indefinite  retention.  They 
must  never  forget  that  trade  can  not  be  imposed  upon  a people 
by  force ; that  commercial  or  industrial  enterprise  is  essentially 
voluntary, -and  that  to  succeed  financially  in  the  islands  they 
must  reckon  with  one  important  factor — the  good  will  of  the 
Filipino  people. 

The  Filipinos  are  now  harmoniously  working  hand  in  hand 
not  only  with  the  American  Government  in  the  Philippines,  but 
with  American  enterprises  in  the  islands,  because  they  still  be- 
lieve that  they  will  receive  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  United 
States  and  that  it  is  only  a matter  of  a short  time  before  their 
independence  will" be  granted.  If,  to  their  misfortune,  the  day 
should  ever  come  when,  owing  to  the  efforts  of  the  few  Ameri- 
can “interests”  in  the  islands,  they  shall  be  deprived  of  their 
sacred  right  to  freedom,  I doubt  very  much  if  these  “ interests  ” 
will  be  able  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  people  in  their 
business.  I should  fear  that  under  those  conditions  the  gains 
which  they  have  promised  to  themselves  will  be  converted  into 
real  losses. 

“ AUTHORITIES  ” ON  THE  THII.IPrlXES. 

I come  now  to  that  portion  of  the  remarks  of  the  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  that  is  apparently  most  carefully  prepared 
83GS3— 11867 


11 


and  most  elaborate.  I refer  to  his  statement  on  the  ignorance 
and  lack  of  homogeneity  of  the  Filipino  people  and  their  unfit- 
ness for  self-government.  Of  course  everything  that  the  gentle- 
man says  on  this  phase  of  the  subject  is  taken  from  other 
authorities,  such  as  President  Taft,  ex-President  Roosevelt, 
ex-Secretary  of  War  Dickinson,  and  the  Philippine  census. 
His  statements  do  not  rest  upon  his  own  knowledge.  The 
gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  says  that  Mr.  Taft  is  “better 
qualified  than  any  other  American  to  testify  concerning  ” 
the  Filipinos  because  “ his  familiarity  with  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage enabled  him  to  acquire  an  unusual  amount  of  informa- 
tion as  to  their — the  Filipinos’ — intelligence,  their  habits  of 
thought,  and  their  desires.”  No  wonder  that  Mr.  Taft  has  not 
acquired  the  information  that  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
attributes  to  him,  for  he  does  not  and  has  never  possessed  the 
knowledge  of  Spanish  by  which  the  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania asserts  that  he  has  acquired  that  information.  President 
Taft  has  never  known  the  Spanish  language,  and,  in  so  far  as  I 
am  aware,  he  never  asserted  that  he  knew  it. 

Mr.  OLMSTED.  But  I have  heard  him  talk  with  Spaniards. 

Mr.  QUEZON.  I suppose  he  has  said  “ bueuos  dias.”  He 
does  not  speak  Spanish,  and  he  never  had  any  direct  communica- 
tion with  the  Filipinos  except  with  those  very  few  who  at  that 
time  could  speak  English. 

CURRY  AND  BLOUNT  VERSUS  TAFT. 

But  it  is  true  that  Mr.  Taft  had  been  for  two  years  governor 
general  in  the  Philippines.  He  visited  nearly  every  Province 
and  has  met  personally  many  Filipinos.  He  has  undoubtedly 
more  knowledge  about  the  Philippines  than  the  great  majority 
of  the  American  people,  but  I question  the  statement  that  he  is 
“ better  qualified  than  any  other  American  ” to  testify  con- 
cerning the  Filipinos.  There  are  many  Americans  who  have 
had  more  intimate  contact  with  the  people  of  the  Philippines, 
who  have  lived  for  a longer  period  of  years  in  the  islands,  and 
who  speak  Spanish  and  native  dialects.  Some,  at  least,  of  these 
Americans  are  utterly  at  variance  with  Mr.  Taft  in  his  opinion 
as  to  the  unfitness  of  the  Filipino  people  for  self-government, 
their  ignorance,  and  lack  of  homogeneity.  I can  cite  the  case 
of  Gov.  Curby,  now  a Member  of  this  House  from  New  Mexico, 
who  has  been  in  the  Philippines  for  eight  years,  has  traveled 
throughout  the  islands,  was  an  officer  of  Volunteers,  governor 
of  one  Province  in  the  northern  part  of  Luzon  and  of  another 
in  the  south  in  the  group  of  the  Visayan  Islands,  and  chief  of 
police  of  Manila.  Gov.  Curry  says  that  the  people  of  the 
Philippines  are  homogeneous;  that  they  constitute  a nation  and 
are  capable  enough  to  establish  and  maintain  a government, 
republican  in  form,  that  will  certainly  suit  their  own  needs 
better  than  any  American  government  that  can  be  imposed  upon 
them.  There  likewise  is  the  testimony  of  Judge  Blount,  whose 
book,  The  American  Occupation  of  the  Philippines,  has  already 
attracted  wide  attention,  and  of  many  others. 

FILIPINOS  AGAINST  TAFT. 

Even  admitting  that  Mr.  Taft  is  better  qualified  than  any 
other  American  to  testify  concerning  the  Filipinos,  would  any- 
one assert  that  he  is  better  qualified  than  the  Filipinos  to  tes- 
tify about  themselves?  And  the  Filipinos  are  united  in  their 
assertion  that  they  constitute  a homogeneous  people,  capable  of 
836S3— 11867 


governing  themselves,  with  one  common,  paramount  ambition — 
to  see  their  country  free.  It  must  be  remembered  that  President 
Taft  has  been  found,  by  the  verdict  of  every  State  of  the  Union 
save  Utah  and  Vermont,  wrong  in  his  domestic  policies.  Yet  Mr. 
Taft  ought  to  be  better  qualified  to  say  what  is  best  for  the 
American  people.  May  he  not  be  equally  wrong  in  his  Philip- 
pine policy? 

EX-PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT  ON  THE  PHILIPPINES. 

As  for  ex-President  Itoosevelt,  his  knowledge  about  the  Phil- 
ippines is  as  little  dependable  as  that  of  President  Taft.  Ex- 
President  Roosevelt  became  an  authority  on  the  Philippines,  I 
suppose,  because  of  the  fact  that  since  the  islands  came  under 
American  control  he  was  for  a time  President  of  the  United 
States  and  thus  had  the  responsibility  of  administering  their 
affairs.  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  never  in  the  Philippines.  While  he 
was  President  Mr.  Taft  became  the  first  Governor  General  of 
the  islands  and  later  Secretary  of  War.  Of  course,  not  know- 
ing the  Philippines  from  personal  observation  Mr.  Roosevelt 
had  to  depend  altogether  upon  what  Mr.  Taft,  his  own  subordi- 
nate, told  him. 

EX-SECRETARV  DICKINSON. 

As  to  ex-Secretary  of  War  Dickinson,  he  was  appointed  Sec- 
retary of  War  by  President  Taft  at  the  beginning  of  the  lat- 
ter’s administration.  Prior  to  that  time  he  never  was  in  the 
Philippines  and  has  made  no  special  study  of  those  people. 
Upon  taking  office  he  at  once  became  responsible  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  8.000.000  people  without  knowing 
much  about  them,  and  as  administrator  of  those  people  was 
called  upon  to  carry  out  the  policy  that  was  laid  down,  not  by 
himself,  but  by  Mr.  Taft.  The  views,  ideas,  and  policies  of  this 
administration  with  regard  to  the  Philippines  were,  of  course, 
known  to  ex-Secretary  of  War  Dickinson,  as  they  were  known  to 
all  of  us.  The  administration  believed  that  the  Filipino  people 
were  not  ready  for  self-government,  and  it  was  natural  that  ex- 
Secretary  of  War  Dickinson,  not  having  himself  made  any  per- 
sonal and  deep  study  of  the  islands,  should  take  the  views  of  the 
administration.  After  having  been  at  the  head  of  the  War  De- 
partment for  two  years,  living  in  an  atmosphere  of  disbelief  in  the 
ability  of  the  Filipinos  for  self-government,  the  Secretary  of  War 
went  to  the  islands.  He  visited,  it  is  true,  several  provinces  of 
the  archipelago  and  met  many  people  in  private  conferences  and 
at  banquets,  dances,  and  public  receptions  that  were  tendered 
to  him.  He  did  not  speak  Spanish  or  any  native  dialect.  His 
visit  was  so  short  that  he  could  not  have  formed  any  real 
opinion  of  his  own  concerning  the  Philippine  situation  strong 
enough  to  replace  that  which  he  had  formed  in  the  imperial- 
istic atmosphere  of  the  War  Department  before  he  went  to  the 
Philippines. 

From  these  observations  it  will  be  seen  that  the  opinion  of 
the  “authorities”  cited  by  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
is  not  to  be  taken  as  conclusive  or  final,  much  less  when  it  is 
realized  that  other  Americans  equally,  if  not  better,  qualified 
entertain  an  opposite  theory,  and  that  the  Filipinos  are  alto- 
gether on  this  side  of  the  question  and  by  all  laws  of  nature 
ought  to  know  themselves  better  and  have  more  regard  for  their 
own  welfare  than  do  the  American  imperialists. 

83083 — 11807 


13 


THE  PHILIPPINE  CENSUS. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  in  his  efforts  to  establish 
the  ignorance  and  lack  of  homogeneity  of  the  people  of  the 
Philippines,  which  exists  only  in  the  imagination  of  those  who 
do  not  know  those  people,  quoted  extracts  from  the  Philippine 
census  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  gentleman,  prove  conclusively 
his  contention.  The  same  thing  was  done  by  the  gentleman 
from  New  York.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  the  census  of  the 
Philippines  was  taken  under  the  guidance  of  the  Philippine 
Commission,  at  that  time  headed  by  Mr.  Taft,  and  that  the 
opinions  of  Mr.  Taft  and  his  colleagues  as  to  the  capacity  for 
self-government  of  the  Filipino  are  reflected  in  that  work.  The 
director  of  the  census  himself — Maj.  Gen.  Sanger,  United  States 
Army,  retired — was  appointed  at  the  request  of  Gov.  Taft,  and 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  this  important  work  without  any 
previous  connection  or  knowledge  of  the  Filipino  people.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  say  that  Gen.  Sanger  believed  with  Mr.  Taft 
and  with  the  majority  of  his  Army  comrades  that  the  Filipinos 
were  better  fitted  to  be  governed  than  to  govern  themselves. 
But  even  at  that,  if  the  tables  of  tbe  census  are  carefully 
studied,  there  will  be  found  ample  material  to  support  the 
opposite  theory,  and  much  more  so  if  to  this  we  should  add 
the  consideration  that  this  census  was  taken  10  years  ago,  and 
that  since  that  time  great  progress  has  been  made  by  the  Fili- 
pinos along  educational,  commercial,  and  industrial  lines,  a 
fact  to  which  present  Government  officials  take  pride  in  tes- 
tifying. 

An  analysis  of  the  quotations  made  by  the  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania  from  the  census,  as  well  as  of  his  comments 
thereon,  shows  that  his  quotations  and  comments  are  not  alto- 
gether reliable.  For  instance,  he  quotes  that  passage  in  the 
census  which  says: 

The  selection  of  a sufficient  number  of  intelligent  Filipinos  able  to 
read,  write,  and  speak  the  Spanish  language,  as  well  as  the  various 
dialects  of  the  people,  to  serve  as  enumerators  and  special  agents  was 
by  no  means  a trivial  undertaking,  for  although  it  was  estimated 
that  of  the  7.000,000  of  civilized  population  700,000  approximately 
could  read  and  write  Spanish,  according  to  the  Archbishop  of  Manila, 
not  more  than  7.000  belong  to  the  educated  class. 

THREE  PER  CENT  OF  FILIPINOS  HAVE  SUPERIOR  EDUCATION. 

On  page  80,  volume  2 of  the  same  census,  we  read : 

Out  of  the  total  number  of  males  of  voting  age  the  number  having 
superior  education  was  50,140,  or  3 per  cent. 

This  is  certainly  iu  open  contradiction  to  the  statement  that 
only  7,000  Filipinos  belonged  to  the  educated  class,  unless,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  those  having 
superior  education  do  not  constitute  an  educated  class. 

ALMOST  50  TER  CENT  OF  LITERACY. 

Again,  on  pages  7S  and  79  of  the  same  volume  of  the  census 
we  find  this  statement : 

The  total  number  of  males  10  years  of  age  and  over  was  2,473,777. 
* * * There  were  1,161,925  males  who  were  able  to  read.  * * » 

Tbe  number  of  males  who  could  both  read  and  write  was  735,564. 

These  figures  convey  an  idea  entirely  different  from  that 
which  the  paragraph  quoted  by  the  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania would  seem  to  convey. 

THE  FILIPINOS  A HOMOGENEOUS  PEOPLE. 

The  gentleman  seems  greatly  elated  at  finding  certain  reports 
from  provincial  governors  testifying  to  the  lack  of  homogeneity 
83G83— 11867 


14 


and  knowledge  of  tlie  Filipinos.  These  same  reports  are  quoted 
by  the  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Redfield],  The  gentle- 
man from  Pennsylvania  affirmed  that  the  reports  in  question 
“ are  interesting  and  important  in  this  connection”  because  they 
are  made  by  “ native  Filipinos.”  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
gentleman  did  not  take  greater  pains  to  verify  these  assertions 
before  he  made  them,  for  he  would  have  found  that  the  gov- 
ernors whose  reports  he  quoted  are  not  Filipinos  at  all.  The 
governor  of  Bataan,  whose  report  he  quotes,  was  Capt.  John 
H.  Goldman,  and  the  governor  of  Ambos  Camariues,  whose  re- 
port is  also  quoted,  was  Capt.  James  Boss.  The  census  on  page 
591)  of  volume  1 gives  the  names  of  these  governors. 

In  contrast  as  well  as  in  answer  to  the  reports  of  these 
American  governors,  I beg  to  quote  now  from  reports  of  gov- 
ernors who  are  in  truth  “ native  Filipinos.” 

Gov.  J.  Ortega,  of  La  Union,  Ilocano  Province,  says  of  the 
people  under  his  jurisdiction : 

The  Ilocanos  are  of  medium  height,  brown  color,  fair  constitution, 
and  they  enjoy  good  health  as  a rule;  have  healthy  customs,  are  moral 
and  honest,  chastity  and  love  of  home  predominating  among  them,  and 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  are  submissive,  obedient,  and  of  a 
timid  character,  they  would  commit  crime  when  offended  in  their  honor, 
and  when  they  do  not  find  any  more  satisfactory  vindication  for  con- 
jugal infidelity,  then  the  death  of  the  offender  and  the  faithless  one  at 
the  hand  of  the  offended. 

Gov.  Gracio  Gonzaga,  of  Cagayan,  Cagayan  Province,  says: 

The  customs  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province  are  temperate,  they 
are  obedient  to  the  authorities,  and  their  character  is  pacific,  hos- 
pitable, and  moderate  and  frugal  in  food  and  drink. 

Gov.  Simeon  Luz,  of  Batangas,  Tagalog  Province,  speaks  thus 
of  bis  people: 

The  manners  and  customs  of  the  natives  of  this  Province  differ  very 
little,  if  at  all,  from  those  of  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  archipelago, 
this  being  ihe  ease  more  especially  with  regard  to  the  Tagalog  Province 
of  Luzon.  As  a rule,  the  Filipino  of  Batangas  is  very  hospitable, 
moderate,  sober,  religious,  and  very  much  attached  to  the  soil  of  his 
birth,  characteristics  which  distinguish  the  race  in  general. 

Likewise  Gov.  Martin  Delgatlo,  of  Iloilo,  Yisayan  Province, 
says : 

The  customs  and  manner  of  living  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province 
are.  generally  speaking,  identical  with  or  very  similar  to  those  in  the 
other  Provinces  of  the  archipelago  ; they  are  moderate,  temperate,  sim- 
ple, and  hospitable  in  every  respect.  They  are  very  much  attached  to 
their  homes  and  families,  which  they  do  not  leave  except  when  forced 
to  do  so  by  reason  of  being  obliged  to  seek  their  support  in  other 
sections. 

And  Gov.  Juan  Climaco,  of  Cebu,  Yisayan  Province,  says: 

There  are  scarcely  any  peculiarities  which  distinguish  in  a marked 
degree  the  Cebuanos  from  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  islands.  The 
culture,  religion,  disposition,  manners,  and  customs  of  all  are  similar. 
There  is  to  be  noted,  however,  a greater  industrial  activity  among  them 
than  among  those  of  the  neighboring  Provinces,  especially  in  all  that 
relates  to  agriculture,  due,  perhaps,  to  the  necessity  of  stimulating 
production.  The  soil  of  Cebu  is  not  naturally  extremely  fertile,  and 
manual  labor  is  necessary  in  order  to  make  it  supply  man's  necessities. 

These  reports  are  the  best  answer  to  the  sometimes  ignorant, 
sometimes  malicious,  statement  that  the  Filipinos  do  not  con- 
stitute a homogeneous  people,  but  are  instead  a “conglomera- 
tion of  different  tribes,  with  different  characteristics.”  Those 
different  “ tribes,”  it  is  said,  are  the  Ilocanos  and  Cagayanes, 
inhabiting  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of  Luzon;  the  Taga- 
logs,  who  inhabit  the  center  and  south  of  that  island : and  the 
Yisayans,  who  inhabit  the  southern  group  of  the  archipelago. 

80083 — 11807 


15 


The  reports  I have  quoted  come  from  an  Iloeauo,  Cagayan, 
Tagalog,  and  Visayan  governor.  The  Provinces  over  which 
they  have  authority  are  situated — La  Union  and  Cagayan  in 
the  most  northern  part  of  Luzon,  Batangas  in  the  border  of  the 
Center  and  south  of  Luzon,  Iloilo  and  Cebu  in  the  southern 
islands  of  Paiiay  and  Cebu.  All  these  governors  attribute  to 
the  people  of  their  respective  Provinces  the  same  characteristics, 
namely,  hospitality,  sobriety,  piety,  morality,  and  love  for  order, 
home,  and  family.  They  are  unanimous  in  stating  that  the  cul- 
ture, manners,  customs,  and  habits  of  thought  of  the  people  of 
their  respective  Provinces  are  identical  with  those  of  the  rest 
of  the  archipelago. 

The  different  denominations  given  to  the  inhabitants  of  cer- 
tain regions  of  the  islands — Ilocanos,  Cagayaues,  and  so  forth — 
are,  to  those  not  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Filipinos,  most 
misleading.  The  impression  naturally  conveyed  by  these  dif- 
ferent names  is  that  the  people  thus  differently  named  are 
heterogeneous.  The  Filipinos  do  not  among  themselves  apply 
the  names  Tagal,  Iloeauo,  or  Visayan,  but  use  the  word 
" Filipino.-’  In  their  gatherings  nobody  knows,  or  cares  to  know, 
from  what  region  of  the  archipelago  this  or  that  man  may 
come.  There  is  no  more  difference,  except  that  of  local  dialect, 
between  the  Iloeauo  of  the  northernmost  and  the  Visayan  of 
the  southernmost  Provinces  than  there  is  between  a Californian 
and  Oregonian.  In  fact,  there  does  not  exist,  nor  has  there 
ever  existed,  an  antagonism  between  the  inhabitants  of  different 
Provinces,  since,  fortunately,  there  has  never  been  a bloody 
contest  like  the  War  of  Secession,  nor  any  sectional  warfare 
amongst  us. 

No  intelligent  man  who  knows  the  contemporaneous  history 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  has  had  an  intimate  contact  with 
the  people  of  the  Philippines  can  honestly  say  that  the  Filipinos 
do  not  constitute  a homogeneous  people,  conscious  of  their  own 
nationality.  Racially  the  Filipinos  are  more  homogeneous  than 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  because  while  the  American 
people  to-day  include  elements  coming  from  different  parts 
and  races  of  Europe,  the  Filipinos  all  belong  to  the  same  stock — 
the  Malay  race.  In  religion  they  are  also  more  homogeneous 
than  the  people  of  the  United  States,  for  practically  all  the 
civilized  people  of  the  Philippines,  numbering  more  than  seven 
and  a half  millions  out  of  the  total  population  of  eight  millions, 
are  Roman  Catholics.  Belonging  to  the  same  race,  molded  by 
the  same  church  and  the  same  civilization  for  the  past  300 
years,  the  Filipinos  would  naturally  have,  as  they  have  in  fact, 
the  same  characteristics,  customs,  habits,  and  ideas. 

THE  FII.IPINOS  CONSTITUTE  A NATION. 

That  they  constitute  a nation,  that  they  have  common  na- 
tional aspirations  and  feelings,  is  a fact  proven  beyond  any 
question.  The  pages  of  the  contemporary  history  of  the  Philip- 
pines are  illuminated  with  the  most  eloquent  proofs  of  the 
unity  of  the  Filipino  people.  In  the  struggle  for  freedom  the 
sons  of  the  northern  as  well  as  those  of  the  southern  islands 
have  given  their  lives. 

There  is  not  a region  in  the  whole  Philippine  Archipelago 
which  has  not  been  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  inhabitants 
of  that  territory  in  the  common  struggle  of  the  country  for 
liberty.  At  the  call  of  the  Philippine  independence  cause,  every 
83083 — 11807 


16 


Province  iu  the  archipelago,  those  Provinces  snicl  to  be  in- 
habited by  people  of  different  tribes,  responded,  and  headed  by 
one  man,  whose  local  origin  no  one  cared  to  inquire,  they  re- 
volted against  Spain  and  conquered  every  garrison  and  im- 
prisoned every  Spanish  soldier  outside  the  city  of  Manila.  In 
defense  of  that  same  independence  which  they  had  so  bravely 
wrung  from  their  former  masters  and  under  the  direction  of  a 
government  which  they  themselves  had  established  they  op- 
posed American  domination  iu  the  islands,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  they  knew  but  too  well  that  their  opposition  would  be 
crushed  and  that  their  reward  for  love  of  country  would  be 
death.  The  following  extract  from  a declaration  made  by 
Admiral  Dewey  before  the  Senate  Committee  on  the  Philippines 
indicates  how  united  were  the  Filpiuos  in  their  revolution 
against  Spain.  When  the  admiral  was  asked  how  large  was  the 
Philippine  army  which  revolted  against  Spain  he  said  it  num- 
bered about  25,000,  and  added  : 

They  could  have  had  any  number  of  men  ; it  was  just  a question  of 
arming  them.  They  could  have  had  the  whole  population. 

Gen.  MacArthur,  the  man  who  successfully  defeated  the 
Philippine  Army,  in  a report  in  1000  to  the  War  Department,  ex- 
plaining how  with  few  and  a poor  quality  of  arms  the  Filipinos 
were  capable  of  offering  a long  resistance  to  the  United  States 
Army,  which  at  that  time  in  the  Philippines  amounted  to 
120,000  men.  said  in  so  many  words  that  from  the  inception  of 
hostilities  it  was  decided  by  a council  of  war  that  owing  to  the 
great  difference  between  the  American  Army  and  the  Filipino 
army  a guerrilla  warfare  would  be  best  adapted  to  the  peculiar 
conditions  of  the  struggle;  but  in  order  to  give  the  world  a 
practical  demonstration  of  their  capacity  for  organization  and 
self-government  it  was  thought  necessary  that  at  first  the  war 
should  be  conducted  in  a regular  manner,  with  a concentrated 
field  army.  After  this  plan  had  been  carried  out,  about  Novem- 
ber 12,  1898,  the  form  of  guerrilla  warfare  was  adopted.  De- 
scribing this  guerrilla  warfare,  Gen.  MaoArthur  textualiy  says: 

The  success  of  this  unique  system  of  warfare  depended  upon  almost 
complete  unity  of  action  of  the  entire  native  population.  That  such 
unity  is  a fact  is  too  obvious  to  admit  of  discussion.  Intimidatiou  has 
undoubtedly  accomplished  much  to  this  end.  but  fear,  as  the  only 
motive,  is  hardly  sufficient  to  account  for  the  unity  and  apparently 
spontaneous  action  of  several  millions  of  people.  One  traitor  in  each 
town  would  effectually  destroy  such  a complex  organization.  It  is 
more  probable  that  the  adhesive  principle  comes  from  ethnological 
homogeneity,  which  induces  men  to  respond  for  a time  to  the  appeals 
of  consanguine  leadership. 

The  same  officer  made  the  following  statement  before  the  Sen- 
ate committee : 

When  I first  started  in  against  these  rebels  T believed  that  Agui- 
naldo's  troops  represented  only  one  faction.  I did  not  believe  that  the 
whole  population  was  opposed  to  us  ; but  I have  been  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  believe  taat  the  Filipinos  are  loyal  to  Aguinaldo  and  the  gov- 
ernment which  he  represents. 

The  testimony  of  the  two  men  most  competent  to  judge  how 
the  Filipinos  fought  against  Spain  and  later  against  the  United 
States  shows  conclusively  that  they  were  united  in  both  those 
struggles.  Was  it  possible,  if  there  did  not  exist  a common 
sense  of  nationality,  a common  national  ambition,  that  these 
people,  said  to  be  so  heterogeneous,  would  unite  to  make  the 
greatest  sacrifices  that  any  people  can  make — those  of  their 
lives  and  of  their  property V 
830*3—11807 


17 


While  the  people  of  the  Philippines  have  shown  in  time  of 
war  that  they  are  one,  they  have  given  a like  proof  in  time  of 
peace.  There  are  at  present  two  political  parties  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  They  are  not  based  upon  sectional  policies.  Both 
of  these  parties  extend  throughout  the  archipelago  and  hold 
local  as  well  as  national  conventions.  Both  these  parties  advo- 
cate Philippine  independence,  the  difference  being  only  with 
reference  to  the  method  of  obtaining  it.  There  is  a Philippine 
Board  of  Commerce,  wherein  the  commercial  interests  of  every 
part  of  the  country  are  represented.  There  is  a Philippine 
farmers’  organization,  which  holds  occasional  national  conven- 
tions, attended  by  representative  farmers  from  all  parts  of  the 
archipelago.  The  lower  house  of  the  Philippine  Legislature, 
namely,  the  Philippine  Assembly,  is  composed  of  Filipinos  from 
every  civilized  Province  of  the  Archipelago.  There  are  repre- 
sented the  so-called  Ilocauos,  Cagayanes,  Pampangos,  Tagalogs, 
and  Visayans,  by  districts  and  according  to  population,  and  they 
select  their  speaker  and  other  officers  of  the  house,  regardless  of 
the  region  from  which  they  come.  The  Hon.  Sergip  Osmena, 
speaker  of  the  assembly,  is  a Visayan,  and  he  being  a nation- 
alist received  the  unanimous  support  of  the  members  of  the 
nationalist  party  in  the  house,  regardless  of  whether  the  mem- 
ber was  a Tagal,  Ilocano,  or  Cagayan.  Members  who  were 
Visayans,  coming  from  the  speaker's  region,  but  belonging  to  the 
progresista  party,  voted  for  the  Hon.  Vicente  Singson,  an  Ilo- 
cauo,  who  is  the  leader  of  the  minority.  The  Besident  Commis- 
sioners in  the  United  States  are  elected  by  the  Philippine  Legis- 
lature, and  he  who  has  the  honor  to  address  you,  being  himself 
a Tagal,  received  not  only  every  vote  of  the  Tagal  assemblymen 
but  also  of  every  Visayan,  Ilocano,  and  Cagayan — in  fact,  of 
every  member  of  the  two  political  parties  of  the  assembly, 
because  I advocated  Philippine  independence  and  both  parties 
are  united  in  favor  of  my  contention. 

Speaking  of  the  Philippine  Assembly,  Mr.  James  Alexander 
Robertson,  librarian  of  the  Philippine  Library,  who  is  by  no 
means  a partisan  of  immediate  independence  for  the  Philippines, 
says : 

Conversations  with  various  of  the  delegates  show  them  to  he  on  the 
whole  men  of  relative  superior  intelligence,  alert,  and  anxious  for  the 
best  flood  of  the  Philippines.  This  last  is  a very  significant  fact.  The 
delegates,  although  elected  to  represent  a certain  locality,  are  keenly 
alive  to  the  fact  that  they  represent  all  the  Philippines  and  must 
obtain  the  best  flood  for  the  whole  country. 

DR.  JOSfi  RIZAL,  NATIONAL  HERO. 

The  recognition  of  a national  hero  in  any  country  is  evidence 
of  the  national  consciousness  of  the  people  thereof.  The  Fili- 
pinos have  their  national  hero — Dr.  Jos6  Rizal,  who  was  shot 
to  death  by  order  of  the  Spanish  Government  on  the  30th  of 
December,  1S96.  The  crime  of  Dr.  Rizal  was  the  crime  of 
George  Washington — he  loved  his  people  and  sought  their  free- 
dom. He  paid  for  his  patriotism  with  his  life,  and  he  died 
gladly.  On  the  eve  of  his  martyrdom  he  wrote  one  of  the 
noblest  poems  that  ever  came  from  a patriot  pen.  In  every 
town  in  the  Philippine  Archipelago  the  30th  of  December  is 
consecrated  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Rizal ; he  is  venerated  by 
every  Filipino,  and  his  picture  hangs  prominently  in  every  home, 
from  the  costliest  to  the  humblest.  Each  and  every  man  in 
every  one  of  the  so-called  tribes  of  the  Philippines  regards  Dr. 
Rizal  as  Americans  regard  George  Washington. 

83C83 — 11807 2 


18 


LACK  OP  UNIVERSAL  LANGUAGE  NOT  AN  OBSTACLE  TO  INDEPENDENCE. 

The  gentlemen  from  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and,  like 
them,  every  enemy  of  Philippine  independence,  assert  that 
since  there  are  many  different  dialects  spoken  in  the  archi- 
pelago, and  there  is  no  language  known  to  and  spoken  by  every 
Filipino,  hence  the  Filipinos,  not  understanding  one  another,  can 
have  no  national  feeling  or  thought. 

Nobody  cares  to  deny  that  there  are  different  native  dialects 
spoken  in  the  Philippines  and  that  there  is  no  one  language 
which  is  understood  and  used  by  every  Filipino — man,  woman, 
and  child.  But  the  facts  which  I have  already  stated  show  con- 
clusively that  the  lack  of  a universal  language  in  the  Philippines 
has  not  prevented  the  Filipinos  from  being  a homogeneous  and 
united  people.  Indeed,  the  opponents  of  Philippine  independ- 
ence, in  their  efforts  to  postpone  the  recognition  of  that  innate 
right  of  ours  to  become  the  sole  masters  of  our  destiny,  demand 
that  there  should  exist  in  the  Philippines  conditions  that  do  not 
exist  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  In  the  United  States  itself 
how  many  thousands  of  people  are  there  constituting  a part  of 
this  body  politic  who  have  no  understanding  of  English? 
There  are  many  well-governed  democracies  as  well  as  king- 
doms in  Europe  where  the  people  speak  different  languages. 
The  model  of  all  republics  and  democracies,  that  small  country 
of  Switzerland,  has  three  official  languages — Italian,  French, 
and  German — because  the  people  inhabiting  the  cantons  border- 
ing Italy  speak  Italian,  those  bordering  Germany  speak  Ger- 
man, and  those  bordering  France  speak  French.  In  the  Austrian 
Empire  also  different  languages  are  spoken.  In  England  the 
polished  style  of  the  English  gentleman  is  scarcely  under- 
stood, and  is  not  spoken  by  the  masses  of  the  people,  nor  is  the 
Cockney  English  understood  by  the  elegant  Englishman.  And  a 
like  condition  prevails  in  many  other  independent  countries  of 
Europe  and  Asia. 

INTERCOMMUNICATION  IN  THE  I>HILlrriNES. 

The  fact  is  that  it  is  not  a prerequisite  of  freedom  or  nation- 
alism that  a people  shall  speak  the  same  language.  It  is  enough 
that  there  be  some  language — maybe  one  or  several — imposed  and 
accepted  as  the  official  language,  and  by  means  of  which  polit- 
ical, governmental,  commercial,  and  industrial  intercommunica- 
tion could  be  had  between  the  different  parts  of  the  country. 

Spanish  has  long  been  the  official  language  in  the  islands,  and 
through  it  not  only  administrative  but  also  business  affairs  have 
been  successfully  conducted  throughout  the  archipelago.  The 
manner  by  which  knowledge  of  public  questions  and  policies  is 
conveyed  to  every  inhabitant,  regardless  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
Spanish  language,  is  simple.  Besides  Spanish  newspapers  there 
are  also  native  journals,  not  only  in  Manila  but  also  in  the 
Provinces.  These  native  papers  inform  the  reader,  who  does  not 
speak  Spanish,  of  every  current  topic  in  his  own  native  dialect. 
Thus  the  lack  of  a common  language  does  not  serve  as  an 
obstacle  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  of  public  matters.  An- 
other way  by  which  every  question  of  public  interest  is  dis- 
cussed by  the  masses  of  the  people  is  that  of  popular  meetings, 
which  take  place  in  every  town  and  village  of  the  archipelago, 
just  as  is  the  case  in  the  United  States.  In  those  meetings 
the  speakers  use  the  vernacular  of  the  locality,  and  the  people 
are  thus  informed  of  subjects  of  general  concern. 

83683— 11SG7 


19 


AMERICAN  ADMINISTRATORS,  NOT  KNOWING  SPANISH,  GOVERNED  THE 
ISLANDS  THROUGH  THAT  LANGUAGE  AS  OFFICIAL. 

Certainly  the  lack  of  a universal  language  has  never  been 
in  the  Philippines  an  obstacle  to  the  carrying  on  of  government 
nor  for  the  pursuit  of  any  business  enterprise.  Spain  has  been 
governing  the  islands  for  three  centuries  through  this  language, 
and  the  United  States  has  done  the  same  for  Id  years  despite 
the  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  governing  Class  did  not 
speak  the  official  language  which  they  had  to  use  in  governing 
the  people.  Since  it  has  been  possible  for  American  adminis- 
trators to  govern  the  Philippines,  using  Spanish  as  the  official 
language,  although  that  language  was  not  universally  spoken  by 
the  Filipinos  and  was  altogether  unknown  by  most  of  those  ad- 
ministrators. it  would  certainly  be  easier  for  the  Filipinos  to 
govern  the  Philippines  using  Spanish  as  an  official  language. 
But  the  conditions  during  the  next  eight  years  will  improve  still 
more  in  the  use  and  knowledge  of  this  official  language  in  the 
Philippines.  By  the  date  contemplated  in  the  Jones  bill  for  the 
granting  of  Philippine  independence  the  official  language  of  tfle 
islands  will  have  come  to  be  English,  and  it  will  then  be  spoken 
by  the  majority  of  Filipinos. 

More  than  700.000  children  have  already  been  given  the  knowl- 
edge of  English  through  the  public  schools.  These  are  now.  or 
are  about  to  be,  of  votiug  age.  Within  eight  years  another  million 
or  more  will  have  passed  out  of  the  schools.  The  enrollment 
for  the  last  10  years  in  public  schools  has  never  been  less  than 
500.000,  but  besides  these  schools  there  have  been  private  as 
well  as  parochial  schools,  colleges,  and  universities,  where 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  children  are  given  education  and  also 
taught  English.  The  enrollment  for  1911  in  the  public  schools 
was  over  000,000.  Of  8,360  teachers  in  the  public  schools,  7,696 
are  Filipinos. 

Coupled  with  the  knowledge  of  English,  literacy  in  the  Philip- 
pines has  grown  immensely  since  the  taking  of  the  census.  Ten 
years  ago  those  who  could  neither  read  nor  write  were  2,762.093 
of  the  total  population  of  4.973,526  of  10  years  of  age  and  over, 
or  55.5  per  cent.  To-day  the  illiteracy  can  not  be  more  than  40 
per  cent,  and  within  eight  years,  without  any  question,  it  will 
be  less  than  30. 

My  prediction  is  by  no  means  due  to  a groundless  optimism, 
but  to  the  fact  that  the  Filipinos  are  doing  everything  to  educate 
themselves.  This  is  a statement  which  the  most  extreme  im- 
perialist dares  not  deny.  Not  only  the  children,  but  their  parents 
also,  are  learning.  Col.  J.  G.  Harbord.  of  the  Philippine  Con- 
stabulary, who  has  been  in  the  islands  for  many  years  and  who 
is  still  there,  has  said: 

No  sojourner  in  the  Philippines  can  fail  to  notice  the  intense  desire 
of  all  classes  of  the  people  for  education.  It  is  the  wish  of  which  he 
will  be  most  constantly  reminded.  Servants,  coachmen,  laborers,  hun- 
dreds of  them  carry  little  phrase  books  of  short  language  methods  and 
are  earnestly  striving  to  learn  English.  * * * Public  money  for 

education  is  one  appropriation  never  criticized  by  the  vernacular  press 
of  Manila.  Night  and  day  schools  are  well  attended,  and  in  some  of  the 
former  local  officials,  overcoming  their  fear  of  ridicule  and  swallowing 
their  pride,  have  sat  beside  their  own  children  as  pupils  learning  Eng- 
lish. Certainly  the  desire  for  education  is  one  of  the  moving  motives 
of  Filipino  life  to-day.  Parents  make  the  most  complete  sacrifices  to 
send  their  children  to  school,  and  the  pupils  themselves  endure  hunger 
and  privations  to  secure  learning. 

83683— 118G7 


20 


NUMBER  OP  FILIPINO  VOTERS. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  alleged  that  there  are  very 
few  qualified  electors  in  the  Philippines,  and  in  support  of  his 
contention  he  said  that  of  S,000,000  people  but  98,257  voted  at 
the  election  of  the  first  Philippine  Assembly,  which  took  place 
in  1907;  that  at  the  election  of  1908  but  192,975  voted;  and  at 
the  election  of  1912,  24S.154  registered  and  235, 7SG  voted.  From 
these  figures  the  gentleman  concluded  that  only  a very  small 
percentage  of  the  total  population  of  the  islands  has  the  lawful 
qualification  to  take  part  in  public  affairs  and  that  therefore 
the  inhabitants  are  not  able  to  establish  and  maintain  a repub- 
lican form  of  government  as  that  is  understood  by  the  people 
of  the  United  States. 

Comparing  the  figures  given  by  the  gentleman  from  Penn- 
sylvania of  the  registered  votes  at  the  last  election,  248,154, 
with  the  total  voting  population,  1,500,000,  the  electors  in  the 
Philippines  are  15  per  cent  of  the  voting  population.  The  gen- 
tleman says  that  this  is  too  small  a percentage  for  the  people 
thus  qualified  to  be  able  to  establish  a republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment, as  this  kind  of  government  is  understood  by  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  therefore  the  Filipinos  should  not  be 
given  independence. 

A WRONG  THEORY. 

The  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  seems 
to  be,  and,  in  fact,  he  said  so  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  that 
the  Filipino  people  should  not  be  granted  independence  until 
they  are  capable  of  establishing  a republican  form  of  govern- 
ment as  the  idea  is  conceived  and  understood  by  the  people 
of  the  United  States.  If  the  gentleman  is  right,  we  may  as 
well  renounce  once  and  for  all  the  hope  of  ever  becoming 
an  independent  nation.  First,  because  it.  will  be  an  insoluble 
problem  for  the  Filipino  people  to  find  out  at  this  juncture  just 
what  the  American  people's  idea  is  of  a republican  government. 
We  have  heard  in  the  last  national  campaign  from  the  leaders 
of  the  different  political  parties  in  this  country  so  many  differ- 
ent expressions  of  what  they  consider  to  be  true  democracy  and 
popular  government  that  we  are  almost  lost  in  the  conflict  of 
these  opposite  theories.  Second,  because  if  there  was  unanimity 
among  the  Americans  as  to  how  they  shall  be  governed  it  will 
require  the  Filipinos  to  adopt  it,  that  they  shall  be  an  alter  ego 
of  the  American  people.  Of  course  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  ex- 
pect that  such  a condition  will  ever  coine. 

The  gentleman’s  theory  is  wrong,  and  he  must  know  that 
it  is  untenable.  More  than  this,  if  carried  to  its  ultimate 
consequences  it  is  anarchical.  The  theory,  in  effect,  means, 
when  expressed  in  general  terms,  that  the  United  States  has  a 
right  to  subjugate  every  country  incapable  of  establishing  a re- 
publican form  of  government  according  to  American  ideas. 
How  long  has  this  been  a political  tenet  in  this  country?  I have 
always  thought  that  the  United  States  has  proclaimed  to  the 
world  the  fundamental  principle  that  every  people  has  the  right 
to  establish  such  government  as  they  choose.  Let  us  carry  into 
effect  the  theory  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
United  States  should  have  to  deprive  England,  Germany,  Russia, 
Italy,  and  every  kingdom  of  Europe  of  their  independence;  it 
should  not  have  recognized  the  independence  of  Cuba,  and  never 
should  have  retired  from  Mexico. 

83683—11867 


21 


AMERICAN  OLIGARCHY. 

There  is  anotlier  point  which  shows  the  inconsistency  of  the 
position  of  those  who  would  keep  the  Philippines  under  the 
United  States,  because  only  13  per  cent  of  them  have  the  right 
to  share  in  the  conduct  of  the  government.  The  proposition  is 
that  it  is  not  Americanism  to  permit  that  so  small  percentage  of 
the  population  shall  have  in  their  hands  the  sole  guidance  of  the 
ship  of  state.  If  it  is  not  Americanism  to  permit  15  per  cent  of 
the  Filipinos  to  govern  their  countrymen  what  is  it  to  permit 
five  Americans  to  govern  the  whole  population?  For  this  is  in 
fact  the  government  of  the  Philippines  to-day,  an  oligarchical 
government,  monopolized  by  the  American  commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  of  the  United  States  acting  without 
even  consulting  the  will  of  any  Filipino. 

Put  in  considering  the  number  of  voters  in  the  Philippines 
at  present  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  electoral  laws 
in  the  islands,  enacted  by  the  Commission,  require  certain  quali- 
fications that  should  not  be  required  anywhere  and  would  not  be 
required  by  the  Filipino  people  if  they  had  their  own  govern- 
ment. Fifteen  per  cent  only  can  vote  in  the  Philippines,  be- 
cause many  good  and  well-qualified  citizens  have  been  deprived 
of  this  right  by  laws  enacted  by  American  officials.  The  Fili- 
pinos who  should  be  permitted  to  vote,  and  will  be  permitted 
to  vote  by  an  independent  Philippine  Government,  because  they 
are  intelligent,  law-abiding  men,  constitute  a majority  of  the 
voting  population. 

QUALIFICATIONS  TO  VOTE. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  cited  in  the  following  lan- 
guage the  qualifications  required  by  law  to  be  an  elector  in  the 
Philippines:  “Anybody  may  vote  who  was  an  officeholder  under 
the  Spanish  regime,  or  who  is  able  to  speak  or  write  either 
English  or  Spanish,  or  who  possesses  property  to  the  value  of 
$250  gold,  or  who  pays  taxes  to  the  amount  of  $15  per  annum.” 
The  gentleman  considers  these  requirements  very  “ simple.” 
I beg  to  take  issue  with  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  in 
his  proposition  that  these  requirements  are  “ simple,”  if  by 
this  he  meaus  that  in  civilized  countries  the  majority  of  the 
people,  at  least,  should  have  these  qualifications.  Were  they 
to  be  applied  in  the  United  States  there  would  be  an  enormous 
reduction  in  the  electorate. 

ENGLISH  OB  SPANISH  QUALIFICATION  TO  VOT0. 

I have  asked  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  how  many 
voters  there  would  be  in  this  country  if  the  people  of  the 
United  States  were  required  to  read  and  write  German  or  any 
other  foreign  language.  And  I ask  the  same  question  again. 
Neither  Spanish  nor  English  are  native  languages  in  the  Philip- 
pines. There  are  millions  of  Filipinos  who  read  and  write  their 
native  dialects,  but  who  do  not  read  or  write  either  Spanish  or 
English,  and  they  are  unwisely,  nay,  unjustly,  deprived  of  the 
franchise. 

To  demand  the  capacity  to  read  and  write  English  or  Spanish 
as  a prerequisite  to  the  use  of  the  ballot  is  wholly  unreasonable. 
A Filipino  may  be  a very  intelligent  man,  wholly  able  to  vote 
. on  public  questions  affecting  his  town,  his  Province,  or  the  entire 
archipelago,  without  knowing  one  word  of  either  Spanish  or 
English,  if  he  reads  and  writes  his  own  native  dialect,  for  the 
native  dialects  of  the  Philippines  have  their  own  literature. 
Public  questions  are  discussed  in  native  writings  and  there 
83683 — 11807 


22 


are  many  important  texts  translated  into  tliese  native  lan- 
guages as  well  as  others  written  originally  in  native  tongues  by 
native  Filipinos.  A Filipino,  Baltazar,  wrote  a poem  in  Tagalo 
which  can  be  compared  with  any  of  Shakespeare's  dramas,  yet 
he  never  had  any  acquaintance  with  a foreign  language.  If 
the  people  of  the  Philippines  who  know  how  to  read  and  write 
their  own  native  dialects  were  to  be  allowed  to  vote,  the  number 
of  voters  would  be  increased  manyfold. 

rROPEurr  qualification. 

A property  to  the  value  of  .$230  gold  is  a great  deal  of  property 
in  the  Philippine  Islands.  Two  and  a half  acres  of  laud  de- 
voted to  any  kind  of  crop  can  easily  support  a large  family  in 
the  Philippines.  The  average  price  of  land  per  acre  is  not 
more  than  $50,  and  in  some  localities  it  does  not  reach  $15 
per  acre.  How  greatly  would  the  number  of  voters  in  the 
United  States  be  reduced  if  in  order  to  vote  they  had  to  own 
$250  worth  of  property ! It  must,  moreover,  be  borne  in  mind 
that  $250  of  property  in  the  Philippines  is  equivalent,  at  least,  to 
$1,000  in  the  United  States.  The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
seems  to  think  that  there  are  but  few  Filipinos  of  that  class 
which  constitute  the  backbone  of  every  country — farmers.  He 
is  very  much  mistaken. 

NUMBER  OF  FARMS. 

The  Philippine  census  gives  as  the  total  number  of  farms  in 
the  island  S15.453,  the  average  size  of  a farm  being  74  acres. 
Think  of  it ! In  a country  of  8,000,000  people  there  are  S15.453 
farms,  which  means  that  an  equal  number  of  families  own  land 
and  are  engaged  in  farming. 

American  statesmen  claim,  and  with  justice,  that  the  strength 
and  solidity  of  this  Government  rests  upon  the  American 
farmer.  What,  then,  shall  we  say  of  the  Philippines,  where 
there  are,  comparatively  speaking,  many  more  farmers  than 
in  the  United  States?  And  yet  the  majority  of  their  farmers, 
who  support  that  Government  with  their  taxes,  are  denied  the 
right  to  vote  simply  because  their  farms  are  not  worth  $250, 
although  there  may  be  enough  means  at  hand  to  support  them 
and  educate  their  children. 

FIFTEEN  DOLLARS  REQUIREMENT. 

Fifteen  dollars  direct  taxes  per  annum ! That  is  certainly  a 
large  sum  for  the  average  citizen  to  pay  in  any  country.  I ask 
again  how  many  people  in  the  United  States  would  be  deprived 
of  the  right  to  vote  if  they  had  to  pay  annually  $15  in  direct 
taxes? 

There  is  another  provision  in  the  electoral  law  which  the 
gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  failed  to  cite,  and  which  is  of 
some  consequence  in  enlarging  or  diminishing  the  number  of 
voters  in  the  islands  or  anywhere  else.  This  is  the  provision 
that  although  a man  might  speak  and  write  English  or  Spanish, 
own  property  valued  at  more  than  $250,  and  also  pay  $15  taxes 
per  annum,  if  he  happens  to  owe  any  amount,  no  matter  how 
little,  to  the  treasury  for  his  taxes,  he  is  deprived  of  the  right  to 
vote  until  he  has  paid  every  cent  of  it. 

SOME  FILIPINO  ELECTORS  DO  NOT  VOTE. 

Thus  that  my  first  answer  to  the  figures  given  by  the  gentle- 
man from  Pennsylvania  as  to  the  small  number  of  voters  in 
the  Philippine  Islands  is  that  the  requirements  of  the  law  in 
83683— 11S67 


23 


the  Philippines,  though  they  may  be  “ simple,”  as  the  gentle- 
man says,  are  far  too  rigorous.  Were  these  same  requirements 
imposed  by  law  in  any  other  country,  there  would  be  fewer 
voters,  proportionately,  than  there  are  in  the  Philippines.  Fur- 
ther, the  actual  number  of  people  who  have  been  going  to  the 
polls  so  far  does  not  really  constitute  the  only  voting  popula- 
tion of  the  islands.  There  are  still  many  who  do  not  vote  for 
causes  other  than  a lack  of  the  qualifications  required  by  the 
present  laws.  The  figures  given  by  the  gentleman  from  Penn- 
sylvania, even  at  first  sight,  illustrate  my  contention.  Nothing 
has  taken  place  between  the  years  1007  and  1912  which  would 
indicate  a great  change  in  the  condition  of  the  people  in  the 
Philippines;  yet,  while  in  1907  only  98,257  people  voted,  in  1912 
248,154  registered  and  235,786  actually  voted — almost  300  per 
cent  increase  in  less  than  four  years. 

Some  of  the  reasons  why  Philippine  voters  do  not  care  to 
exercise  their  right  to  vote  may  be  traced  to,  and  found,  in  the 
nature  of  the  government  we  now  have.  Everybody  in  the 
islands  realizes  that  while  the  people  are  given  the  right  to 
select  their  officers  for  municipal  and  provincial  governments 
and  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  the  powers  granted  to 
those  officers  are  not  only  limited  in  character,  but  are  also 
subject  to  the  supreme  will  of  the  Governor  General  or  of  the 
Philippine  Commission,  and  that  the  policies  of  native  officials 
can  be  carried  out  only  so  long  as  they  meet  with  the  pleasure 
of  the  American  administrators  in  the  islands.  Thus  many 
think  that  it  is  not  worth  their  while  to  spend  their  time  in 
going  to  the  polls  to  select  officers  who  can  not,  after  all,  be 
real  representatives  of  the  people,  except  to  the  extent  that 
they  are  permitted  to  be  so  by  their  mastei's,  the  American 
officials. 

There  are.  in  fact,  many  who  do  not  vote  for  this  i-eason.  I 
could  give  the  names  of  some  whom  I personally  know.  The 
increase  in  the  number  of  voters  at  the  last  election  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  people  of  the  Philippiixes  are  more  hopeful 
of  success  in  their  struggle  for  independence. 

Axxd  finally,  by  virtue  of  acts  of  Congress,  over  500,000  people 
are  deprived  of  the  right  to  vote  in  the  Philippines,  and  t liere- 
fore  this  number  ought  to  be  deducted  from  the  total  Population 
of  the  islands  when  comparison  is  drawxx  between  the  voters 
and  the  population.  Those  who  are  thus  deprived  of  the  right 
to  vote  are  the  non-Christian  Filipinos. 

MONOPOLY  OF  BUSINESS  BY  FOREIGNERS. 

In  the  effort  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  to  convict 
the  Filipinos  of  being  an  incapable  people  he  made  the  following 
remarks  : 

The  incapacity  of  the  Filipinos  for  prominent  participation  even  in 
important  private  affairs  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the 
commercial  houses  there  are  in  the  hands  of  Spaniards,  Englishmen. 
Germans,  or  Americans,  and  much  of  the  smaller  business  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  Chinese.  If  they  are  incapable  of  managing  important 
private  affairs  it  is  not  difficult  to  reason  that  they  are  not  qualified 
to  participate  desirably  in  the  important  affairs  of  government. 

It  is  not  true  that  the  Filipinos  are  not  managing  important 
business  enterprises  in  the  Philippines.  There  are  important  in- 
dustries, conxmei’cial  enterprises,  and  banking  houses  with  large 
capital  entirely  owned  and  managed  by  Filipinos.  These  are  a 
few  instances:  The  “ Germinal,”  one  of  the  largest  tobacco  fac- 
tories in  the  islands ; the  “ Hogar  Filipino,”  a company  doing 
83C83 — 11S67 


24 


banking  operations;  the  “Compania  Maritima,”  the  largest 
insular  steamship  company;  and  the  “ Cervezeria  de  S.  Miguel,” 
the  largest  brewery  in  the  islands,  are  all  organized  on  a basis 
of  Filipino  capital  and  managed  by  Filipinos,  although  the  ma- 
jority of  the  customers  of  the  brewery  are  foreigners.  There 
are  many  other  important  houses  in  the  islands  engaged  in  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  business  which  are  controlled  by  native  capital 
and  subject  to  native  management. 

But  it  is  true  that  the  Filipinos  do  not  control  the  business 
of  the  archipelago  as  they  should  and  as  they  are  entitled  to. 
This  is  not  because  of  their  lack  of  capability  to  manage  busi- 
ness affairs,  but  because,  having  always  been  under  foreign  rule, 
they  have  never  had  a fair  chance.  That,  indeed,  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  the  Filipinos  wish  to  govern  their  own  country; 
because,  as  is  the  case  in  every  colony,  the  citizens  of  the  gov- 
erning nation  first  and  after  them  other  foreigners  are  given 
by  the  Government  every  aid  and  opportunity  for  developing 
and  exploiting  the  territory.  Of  course,  the  laws  of  the  Philip- 
pines do  not  discriminate  as  between  a Filipino  and  an  American 
or  any  other  foreigner  in  the  islands;  but  the  executive  officials, 
whenever  they  can,  without  disregarding  the  letter  of  the  law, 
help  the  American  business  man  do  so,  and  whenever  they  can 
refuse  their  help  to  a Filipino  business  man  they  also  do  so. 

In  the  early  days  of  American  occupation  of  the  islands  many 
of  the  Filipino  business  men  were  rather  inclined  to  support 
American  sovereignty ; but  their  experiences  in  their  business 
undertakings  have  convinced  them  that  sooner  or  later,  if  for- 
eign rule  should  continue  to  conti’ol  the  affairs  of  their  country, 
their  business  will  go  into  foreign  hands. 

The  Filipinos  do  not  wish  to  deprive  foreign  capital  of  oppor- 
tunities for  investment  in  the  Philippines.  On  the  contrary, 
they  invite  foreign  capitalists  to  come  to  the  islands  and  help 
to  develop  the  natural  resources.  But  they  rightly  claim  that 
there  should  be  an  equal  opportunity  for  all ; that  the  law 
should  be  administered  so  as  to  give  no  preferences  to  natives 
or  foreigners.  If  we  ever  obtain  our  independence,  we  pledge  our- 
selves to  the  faithful  carrying  out  of  the  policy  of  equal  oppor- 
tunities for  all,  without  discrimination  between  races  or 
countries. 

THE  DE  FACTO  rlllLIPPINE  GOVERNMENT. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  referred  to  the  short-lived 
Philippine  independent  republic;  and,  quoting  the  opinion  of 
one  or  two  Army  officers,  who  naturally  were  not  very  sympa- 
thetic with  a government  which  they  fought,  said  in  conclusion 
that — 

It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  much  of  a republic. 

'The  fact  is  that  there  can  not  be  found  another  instance  in 
the  history  of  the  world  where  the  people,  subdued  by  a foreign 
nation  and  starting  a revolt  against  that  nation  with  hut  very 
few  arms  and  little  ammunition,  succeeded  in  a few  months  in 
throwing  off  the  yoke  of  their  foreigu  master,  and  from  the 
ashes  of  that  revolution,  and  facing  an  imminent  war  with  another 
nation,  built  up  a government  with  a liberal  and  democratic 
constitution  which  did  not  only  keep  order  and  enforce  law  but 
proceeded  at  once  to  establish  schools  and  make  public  improve- 
ments. This  is  exactly  what  took  place  in  the  Philippines. 

Admiral  Dewey,  having  witnessed  the  working  of  that  Phil- 
ippine independent  government,  cabled  to  the  Navy  Department 
836S3— 11807 


25 


on  June  23,  1800,  that  the  Filipinos  were  more  capable  of  self- 
government  than  the  Cubans  are,  and  later  on,  in  another  mes- 
sage, reiterated  this  same  opinion.  He  said: 

In  a telegram  sent  to  the  department  on  June  23,  I expressed  the 
opinion  that  “ this  people  are  far  superior  in  their  intelligence  and 
more  capable  of  self-government  than  the  natives  of  Cuba,  and  I am 
familiar  with  both  races.”  Further  intercourse  with  them  has  con- 
firmed me  in  this  opinion. 

Admiral  Dewey  sent  two  naval  men,  Leonard  Sargent  and 
W.  B.  Wilcox,  throughout  the  archipelago  to  investigate  the 
conditions  as  they  stood  in  the  Philippines  at  that  time,  and 
the  report  of  these  men  was  referred  by  the  admiral  to  the 
Navy  Department  with  the  following  indorsement : 

Approved  and  respectfully  forwarded  for  the  information  of  the 
Navy  Department.  Especial  attention  is  invited  to  this  interesting 
and  carefully  prepared  report,  which,  in  my  opinion,  contains  the 
most  complete  information  obtainable  in  regard  to  the  present  state 
of  northern  part  of  Luzon  Island. 

Among  other  things.  Mr.  Sargent  says  in  that  report: 

“ It  lias  been  my  privilege  to  have  been  intimately  associated  with 
the  Filipino  people  for  a short  time  at  a most  interesting  period  of  their 
history.  With  the  permission  of  Admiral  Dewey  I spent  the  greater 
part  of  the  months  of  October  and  November  of  1808,  in  company 
with  Paymaster  W.  B.  Wilcox.  United  States  Navy,  in  the  interior 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of  Luzon.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  at  the  date  the  United  States  had  not  yet  announced  its  policy 
in  regard  to  the  Philippines.  The  terms  of  the  treaty  wTith  Spain 
wrere  being  negotiated  by  our  commissioners  at  Paris,  and  the  fate 
of  the  islands  hung  in  the  balance.  In  the  meantime,  the  native 
population,  taking  matters  into  their  own  hands,  had  declared  their 
independence  from  all  foreign  jurisdiction,  and  had  set  up  a pro- 
visional government,  with  Aguinoldo  at  its  head.  * * * Although 

this  government  has  never  been  recognized,  and  in  all  probability  will 
go  out  of  existence  without  recognition,  yet  it  can  not  be  denied  that 
in  a region  occupied  by  rnauy  millions  of  inhabitants  for  nearly  six 
months  it  stood  alone  between  anarchy  and  order.  The  military  forces 
of  the  United  States  held  control  only  in  Manila,  with  its  environs, 
and  in  Cavite,  and  had  no  authority  to  proceed  further;  while  in  the 
vast  remaining  districts  the  representatives  of  the  only  other  recog- 
nized power  on  the  field  w-ere  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  their  despised 
subjects.  It  was  the  opinion  at  Manila  during  this  anomalous  period 
in  our  Philippine  relations,  and  possibly  in  the  United  States  as  wTell, 
that  the  state  of  affairs  must  breed  something  akin  to  anarchy.  * * * 

I can  state  unreservedly,  however,  that  Mr.  Wilcox  and  I found  the 
existing  conditions  to  be  much  at  variance  with  this  opinion.  During 
our  absence  from  Manila  we  traveled  more  than  600  miles  in  a very 
comprehensive  circuit  through  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of  Lu- 
zon. traversing  a characteristic  and  important  district.  In  this  way 
we  visited  seven  provinces,  of  which  some  were  under  immediate  con- 
trol of  the  central  government  at  Malolos.  while  others  were  remotely 
situated,  separated  from  each  other  and  from  the  seat  of  government 
by  natural  divisions  of  land,  and  accessible  only  by  lengthy  and  ardu- 
ous travel.  As  a tribute  to  the  efficiency  of  Aguinaldo’s  government 
and  to  the  law-abiding  character  of  his  subjects.  I offer  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Wilcox  and  I pursued  our  journey  throughout  in  perfect  security, 
and  returned  to  Manila  with  only  the  most  pleasing  recollections  of 
the  quiet  and  orderly  life  which  we  found  the  natives  to  be  leading 
under  the  new  regime.” 

THE  XOXCIVILIZED  FILII>IXOS. 

Let  me  say  a word  about  these  non-Christian  inhabitants  of 
the  archipelago.  The  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Red- 
field]  in  his  delightful  way  refers  to  the  Igorrotes,  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  hills  of  the  northern  part  of  Luzon,  and  described 
their  manners  and  customs  to  the  House.  He  says:  “They  were 
guiltless  of  all  clothing.”  And  he  adds,  “ There  is  a village 
there:  and  I will  tell  you  in  a moment  about  the  village,  because 
what  I shall  tell  you  will  show  how  fit  for  self-government  some 
portions  of  these  people  are  whose  claims  for  independence  are 
pressed  upon  us.” 

S3GS3— 11867 


26 


I find  it  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  gentleman  from  New 
York  can  take  the  position  that  because  there  are  100,000 
Igorrotes  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  even  if  they  may  be  “guilt- 
less of  all  clothing,”  seven  millions  and  a half  of  clothed  Fili- 
pinos should  be  deprived  of  their  right  to  self-government. 
What  would  the  gentleman  from  New  York  think  were  he  told 
that  there  are  many  thousands  of  Indians  in  the  United  States 
who  have  no  notion  of  freedom  and  self-government  and  that 
therefore  the  American  people  should  be  deprived  of  their  power 
of  self-government? 

COMPARISON  EETWEEN  EXCIVILIZED  PEOPI.E  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  TO-DAY 
AND  IN  THE  EXITED  STATES  IN  1776. 

The  existence  of  a half  million  uncivilized  people  in  the 
archipelago,  including  the  Igorrotes,  other  hill  tribes,  and  Moros, 
has  been  time  and  again  alluded  to  by  the  opponents  of  Philip- 
pine independence  as  a reason  why  the  islands  should  not  be 
free  from  the  control  of  the  United  States.  IIow  soon  these 
men  forget  the  history  of  their  own  country!  When  the  United 
States  acquired  its  independence  from  England  the  proportion  of 
uncivilized  inhabitants  and  of  others  who,  although  not  al- 
together uncivilized,  were  denied  the  right  to  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Colonies  was  vastly  larger  than  it  is  in  the 
Philippines  to-day.  The  inhabitants  of  the  13  Colonies  in  177(1 
numbered  not  more  than  3,000,000  whites,  and  while  the  figures 
given  as  to  the  Indians  vary,  no  one  believes  there  were  less 
than  400,000  at  that  time.  If  we  also  include  the  negro  popula- 
tion then  enslaved,  what  is  the  proportion  between  the  civilized 
Americans  who  fought  for  their  independence  and  the  uncivil- 
ized Indians  and  negro  slaves? 

In  the  Philippines,  on  the  other  hand,  the  civilized  Filipinos 
number  over  7,400,000,  and  the  uncivilized,  according  to  the  cen- 
sus, number  only  300,000.  Would  any  American  care  to  affirm 
that  the  Colonies  ought  not  to  have  been  given  independence  be- 
cause there  were  many  uncivilized  people  in  this  country?  If 
Americans  have  shown  that  they  were  entitled  to  their  independ- 
ence, regardless  of  the  presence  of  Indians  and  of  the  negro 
slave,  and  if,  after  they  acquired  their  independence,  they  have 
claimed  and  exercised  the  right  to  govern  their  wards,  upon 
what  logic  can  the  Filipinos  be  deprived  of  their  independence 
because  of  the  existence  of  the  Igorrotes  and  Moros,  who  must, 
no  doubt,  be  governed  as  wards  by  the  civilized  Filipinos? 

But  we  are  told,  and  it  is  urged  by  both  the  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania  and  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  that  some 
of  these  non-Christian  inhabitants  of  the  islands  will  not  sub- 
mit to  a Philippine  government.  They  refer  to  alleged  state- 
ments made  by  some  Moro  chief  before  ex-Secretary  of  War 
Dickinson  to  the  effect  that  the  Moros  prefer  American  control. 
The  alleged  preference  of  the  Moros  for  American  rule  has  been 
shown  to  be  without  basis.  After  these  statements  had  been 
made  before  ex-Secretary  of  War  Dickinson  many  American 
officers  and  soldiers  were  killed  by  the  Moros  despite  their 
love  for  American  rule.  I deny  that  the  non-Christian  Fili- 
pinos refuse  to  submit  to  a Philippine  government,  and  I deny 
it  the  more  positively  because  during  the  short-lived  Philippine 
Government  all  of  them  recognized  the  authority  of  that  Gov- 
ernment. But  suppose  that  these  non-Christian  Filipinos  should, 
with  arms,  oppose  the  authority  of  a Philippine  independent 
government,  is  that  any  reason  why  we  should  not  be  given  our 
83683— 11SC7 


27 


independence?  How  many  years  have  the  Indians  resisted  the 
authority  of  their  white  brethren,  and  how  many  men  were 
killed  during  the  struggle?  Following  the  precedent  of  the 
United  States,  we  therefore  assert  that  the  civilized  Filipinos, 
constituting  to-day  a larger  majority  over  their  uncivilized  com- 
patriots than  did  the  Americans  over  the  Indians  and  the 
negroes  when  the  United  States  freed  itself  from  England,  have 
a perfect  right  to  ask  that  an  independent  government  be 
granted  them  irrespective  of  the  presence  of  these  elements  in 
the  population,  and  that  they  be  intrusted  with  the  power  to 
govern  the  noncivilized  people  in  the  Philippines. 

THU  FILIPINOS  CAN  GOVERN  THE  UNCIVILIZED  POPULATION. 

But  are  the  Filipinos  strong  enough  to  govern  the  uncivilized 
population  of  the  islands?  We  say  we  are.  Our  assertion  is 
fully  justified  by  the  superiority  in  numbers  as  well  as  in 
civilization  of  the  Christian  Filipinos.  Moreover,  we  aflinn  that 
the  noncivilized  Filipinos  will  more  readly  accept  the  autkorty 
of  a Philippine  independent  government  than  that  of  their  pres- 
ent rulers.  I have  told  you  that  these  uncivilized  people  have 
already,  during  the  eight  months  of  the  Philippine  de  facto  in- 
dependent government,  recognized  the  authority  of  that  govern- 
ment. There  is,  moreover,  the  tie  of  blood  between  the  civilized 
and  the  uncivilized  Filipino  which  does  not  exist  between  either 
of  them,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Americans  on  the  other,  and 
which  will  make  the  control  of  the  former  easier  than  that  of 
the  latter. 

THE  FILIPINOS  UNANIMOUS  IN  FAVOR  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

The  gentleman  from  Mew  York  [Mr.  Hedfield]  read  as  an 
introduction  to  his  remarks  a letter  which  he  says  was  written 
by  a prominent  local  official  of  Ormoc,  island  of  Leyte,  in  which 
it  is  asserted  that  the  abandonment  of  the  Philippines  by  the 
United  States  will  be  disastrous  to  the  Filipinos.  The  name  of 
the  writer  is  not  given,  nor  is  it  stated  whether  he  is  a Filipino 
or  an  American;  but  if  he  be  a Filipino  I do  not  understand 
how  the  opinion  of  one  man.  against  that  of  the  rest  of  his  com- 
patriots, can  have  any  weight  whatever.  The  Filipinos  are 
united  in  their  belief  that  they  are  capable  of  self-government. 
They  are  also  united  in  their  constant  representation  to  the 
American  people  that  they  should  be  given  independence.  The 
Philippine  Assembly,  a body  which  stands  for  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  archipelago,  has  at  every  session  since  it  was 
organized  passed  unanimous  resolutions  urging  Congress  to 
grant  the  islands  independence,  on  the  ground  that  the  people 
are  capable  of  administering  their  own  affairs  and  eager  to  do 
so.  In  every  municipality  of  the  archipelago,  at  public  meet- 
ings, the  Philippine  independence  bill  now  pending  before  the 
House  has  been  indorsed.  In  the  city  of  Manila  a mass  meet- 
ing was  held  on  May  30.  1912,  wherein  a committee  of  men 
representing  all  walks  of  life  was  appointed  to  draw  such  a 
resolution,  which  later  was  unanimously  approved  by  the  meet- 
ing. and  whose  wording  in  part  is  as  follows: 

ItcsolrcO,  That  all  those  present  in  this  meeting  express,  and  do 
hereby  express,  their  acceptance  of  all  parts  of  the  Jones  hill  providing 
for  the  establishment  of 'a  qualified  independent  government  for  the 
Philippines  and  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  be  respectfully 
requested  to  pass  the  bill  as  the  formula  that  embraces  the  highest 
ideals  of  the  Filipino  people  and  safeguards  all  interests. 

83G83 — 11SG7 


2S 


The  members  of  the  committee  which  framed  this  resolution 
were : 

Mr.  Teodoro  R.  Yangco,  representing  the  bankers  and  mer- 
chants; Mr.  Cecilio  Lopez,  representing  the  manufacturers;  Mr. 
Mauro  Prieto,  representing  the  property  owners  and  capitalists; 
Dr.  Isidoro  Santos,  representing  the  professional  classes;  Hon. 
Maximo  Mina,  representing  the  Nationalist  Party;  Dr.  Santiago 
Barcelona,  representing  the  Popular  Nationalist  League;  Dr. 
Alejandro  Albert,  representing  the  Progressist  Party;  Mr.  Mar- 
tin Ocampo,  representing  the  native  press;  Mr.  Hermenegildo 
Cruz,  representing  the  labor  unions;  Mr.  Francisco  Arellano, 
representing  the  Philippine  youth. 

NATIVE  CLERGY  WANT  INDEPENDENCE. 

The  native  priests  of  the  islands,  upon  the  occasion  of  the 
election  of  Gov.  Wilson  as  President  of  the  United  States,  sent 
me  the  following  communication : 

Polo,  Bulacan,  P.  I.,  November  12,  1912. 

Dear  Sir  : We,  the  undersigned,  Filipino  Itoman  Catholic  priests,  in 
a fraternal  meeting  at  Polo,  Bulacan,  send  you  our  mosr  cordial  greet- 
ings We  respectfully  request  that  you  extend  to  the  Hon.  Woodrow 
Wilson  our  hearty  congratulations  oh  his  election  as  President  of  the 
Lnited  States  and  our  fervent  hopes  that  his  administration  may  bring 
to  the  islands  a government  for  and  by  the  Filipinos. 

Very  respectfully, 

if.  Sevilla,  parish  priest  of  Ilagonoy  ; .Tuan  de  la  Rosa,  Rizal, 
P.  I.  ; Arcadio  Resurrcceion,  parish  priest  of  Meycaua- 
yan  Rizal  ; Francisco  Alto,  parish  priest  of  Guiguinto  ; 
Bonifacio  de  la  Cruz,  parish  priest  of  Rigoa ; Juan 
Somera,  parish  priest  of  Paombong ; Vicente  Pingol, 
parish  priest  of  Pulilan  ; Osmundo  Lim,  parish  priest 
of  Barasoain ; Juan  Dilagr  parish  priest  of  Obando ; 
Esteban  Daez,  parish  priest  of  Polo  ; Alejandro  Carlos, 
parish  priest  of  Marilao  ; Ladislao  Santos,  parish  priest 
of  Cuenca  ; Cipriano  Aguirre,  parish  priest  of  Bocawe  ; 
Francisco  Carreon,  parish  priest  of  Tonsuya ; Tom5s 
Changko,  parish  priest  of  Norzagaray ; Aquilino  Bor- 
longan,  parish  priest  of  Calumpit ; Mateo  Evange- 
lista, parish  priest  of  Bulacan  : Benito  Cebrero,  parish 
priest  of  Baliuag;  Victorino  Lopez,  parish  priest  of 
Quinua  : Cirilo  Abela,  parish  priest  of  Santa  Maria  ; Mag- 
daleno  Castillo,  parish  priest  of  Malolos  : Angel  Corta- 
zar,  parish  priest  of  San  .Tose  : Excequiel  Morelos,  parish 
priest  of  Bustos ; Silvino  Manalo,  parish  priest  of 
Pandacan.  * 

The  views  of  the  Filipino  clergy  are  further  explained  by  Rev. 
Silvino  Manalo  in  the  following  words: 

The  reasons  why  the  Filipino  clergy  favors  the  freedom  of  the  Philip- 
pines arc  easily  explained.  Our  history  shows  that  we  have  been  always 
in  favor  of  a Filipino  independent  nationality.  We  believe  that  the 
interests  of  Christianity  in  the  islands,  which  are  the  interests  of  all 
the  civilized  world" and  which  are  our  main  concerns,  can  be  better  pro- 
tected under  a Filipino  independent  government.  We  have,  therefore, 
no  greater  desire  than  the  liberty  of  our  country — liberty  which  means 
the  free  and  just  management  of  our  national  and  international  affairs 
through  the  will  and  sovereignty  of  the  people.  Such  a liberty  is  hut 
the  sequel  of  “ independence,”  which  is  enjoyed  by  most  peoples  of  the 
world. 

We  extend  our  sincere  and  enthusiastic  congratulations  to  the  lion. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  because  we  believe  that,  being  a man  of  sound  demo- 
cratic doctrines  and  a world-known  lover  of  justice,  he  would  do  all  he 
can  to  convert  into  law'  the  Jones  bill  and  thus  insure  to  us  the  right 
which  is  justly  and  inalienably  ours. 

That  there  may  be  one  or  two  Filipinos  for  American  rule  is 
not  impossible;  but  should  the  voice  of  one  man  or  of  a dozen 
men  in  favor  of  American  domination  lie  heeded?  Have  gentle- 
83083-^-11807 


29 


men  forgotten  that  when  the  thirteen  Colonies  were  struggling 
for  freedom  from  Great  Britain,  sacrificing  for  the  independence 
of  their  country  everything  they  cared  most  for  in  this  world, 
there  were  a few  Americans  who  took  sides  with  the  English? 
Have  gentlemen  forgotten  that  there  were  those  who  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  war  of  revolution  were  known  to  be  Tories? 

ASSEMBLY  BILL  XO.  305. 

One  part  of  the  remarks  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
[Mr.  Olmsted]  lias  given  me  a great  deal  of  concern  and  sorrow. 
The  gentleman  alluded  to  a certain  hill  passed  by  the  Philippine 
Assembly  in  a manner  which  must  be  construed  as  reflecting 
upon  the  character  of  the  members  of  the  assembly  and  the 
Filipinos  in  general.  But  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  is 
too  gentle  and  honorable  a man  to  have  willfully  done  so.  I 
wish  to  use  his  own  words  that  I may  not  misrepresent  him  in 
any  way.  He  said : 

As  an  instance  of  one  of  these  bills,  here  is  assembly  bill  No.  BOo. 
which  passed  the  lower  house  December  27,  1010.  but  was  laid  on  the 
table  in  the  upper  branch  January  31.  1011,  after  the  presentation  of  a 
report  of  the  proper  committee  showing  the  object  and  effect  of  the  bill. 
I will  print  that  report,  together  with  a translation  of  the  legal  terms 
used.  The  effect  of  the  bill,  as  explained  by  the  committee,  would  have 
been  to  allow  many  persons  guilty  of  rape  and  certain  other  specified 
offenses  to  go  unpunished.  Such  crimes  were  to  be  considered  and 
dealt  with  as  offenses  against  the  victim,  who  might  or  might  not  insti- 
tute proceedings,  but  not  as  public  offenses  or  offenses  against  society. 

Is  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  willing — would  any  gentleman  he 
willing — to  have  that  most  horrible  of  offenses  no  longer  subject  to 
public  prosecution?  Should  Filipino  women  be  placed  in  that  position? 
Was  the  passage  of  such  an  act  through  the  lower  branch  a very  high 
tribute  to  their  capacity  for  self-government? 

The  accusation  thus  made  against  the  Philippine  Assembly, 
and  in  fact  against  the  whole  Filipino  people,  is  so  unjustified 
and  undeserved  that  I tried  then  to  interrupt  the  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  to  explain  to  him  the  circumstances  upon 
which  this  bill  is  founded,  but,  owing  to  lack  of  time,  he  was 
not  able  to  yield  the  floor. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  was  asked  by  the  gentle- 
man from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Murray]  the  circumstances  re- 
lating to  the  bill,  and  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  an- 
swered that  he  did  not  know  them.  He  said  that  he  knew  that 
“ the  hill  was  passed  by  the  lower  branch,  and  that  is  enough.” 
It  is  not  enough.  The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  before 
making  a statement  that,  at  least,  by  innuendo  indicted  the 
Philippine  Assembly  of  being  unmindful  of  the  honor  of  Filipino 
women,  should  have  devoted  more  time  to  the  study  of  the 
measure  which  he  criticizes.  The  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, before  accusing  the  representatives  of  the  Filipino  people 
of  permitting  rape,  one  of  the  most  horrifying  crimes,  to  go 
unpunished,  should  have  made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  subject. 

The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  is  known  and  considered  to 
be  one  of  the  great  lawyers  not  only  of  Congress  hut  of  the 
United  States  as  well.  I wonder,  therefore,  how  this  gentleman 
could  have  been  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  law  which  he 
criticizes  was  not  intended  to  allow  any  man  guilty  of  rape  to 
go  unpunished,  nor  was  it  an  original  invention  of  the  Philip- 
pine Assembly.  This  bill  merely  purported  to  repeal  section 
4G3  and  to  reenact  sections  44S  and  4tS7  of  the  Penal  Code 
83083 — 11SG7 


30 


of  the  Philippine  Islands,  which  were  amended  by  act  1773 
of  the  Philippine  Commission.  The  penal  code  of  the  Philip- 
pines is  still  the  criminal  law  of  the  land  except  as  it  has  been 
specifically  amended  by  the  acts  of  the  commission  or  the  legis- 
lature. This  code  is  the  same  as  the  Spanish  penal  code,  and 
is  almost  identical  to  the  French,  Austrian,  Napolitan,  and 
Brazilian  codes.  Section  448  of  the  Philippine  penal  code  cor- 
responds to  section  403  of  the  Spanish  penal  code  and  is  similar 
to  sections  337  and  338  of  the  French  penal  code;  section  247, 
second  part,  of  the  Austrian  code;  sections  326  and  327  of  the 
Napolitan  code:  and  section  230  of  the  Brazilian  code. 

Does  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  mean  that  the  legis- 
lative bodies  of  every  one  of  these  countries  proposes  to  allow 
men  guilty  of  rape  to  go  unpunished?  Does  he  mean  to  assert 
that  the  legislators  of  those  countries  propose  to  leave  their 
women  unprotected  when  assailed? 

Surely  the  gentleman  could  not  have  meant  to  draw  such  an 
indictment  against  the  legislators  of  countries  which  are  amongst 
the  most  advanced  nations  of  the  world  in  civilization  and  in  the 
science  of  legislation. 

The  bill  which  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  criticizes, 
like  the  dispositions  in  this  respect  of  the  French,  Austrian, 
Spanish,  Italian,  and  Brazilian  codes,  is  framed  upon  an  alto- 
gether different  theory  and  purpose  from  that  which  the  gen- 
tleman thinks  underlie  it.  They  are  based  on  the  theory  that 
the  crimes  of  seduction,  abduction,  rape,  adultery,  and  so  forth, 
involve  the  dishonor  of  the  person  and  of  the  family  offended; 
or,  in  other  words,  to  the  belief  which  exists  the  world  over 
that  a woman  loses  her  honor,  and  with  her's  her  people's, 
if  she  has  had,  even  unwillingly,  illegitimate  intercourse  with  a 
man.  The  purpose  of  the  bill  is  to  give,  in  these  cases,  to  the 
offended  parties  ample  liberty  to  choose  whether  they  would 
rather  keep  to  themselves  their  disgrace  or  make  it  known  to 
the  public  by  the  prosecution  of  the  crime.  But  the  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  is  very  much  mistaken  when  he  asserts  that 
rape  by  virtue  of  this  bill  is  not  subject  to  public  prosecution. 
t Paragraph  3 of  section  1 of  the  assembly's  bill  says : 

In  order  to  proceed  in  case  of  rape  and  in  those  of  abduction  com- 
mitted with  unchaste  design  the  denunciation  of  the  interested  party, 
of  her  parents,  grandparents,  or  guardians  shall  suffice,  even  though 
they  do  not  present  a formal  petition  to  the  judge. 

The  construction  of  this  paragraph,  familiar  even  to  law  stu- 
dents in  the  countries  where  similar  provision  exists,  is  that 
the  Government  shall  institute  criminal  proceedings  as  soon  as 
it  is  advised  of  the  facts,  even  orally,  by  any  of  the  parties 
mentioned. 

"While  file  bill  passed  by  the  Philippine  Assembly  may  not  be 
in  accord  with  the  legal  views  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsyl- 
vania or  his  own  personal  opinion,  it  is  not  by  any  means  an 
indication  of  the  inability  or  ignorance  of  the  members  of  the 
Philippine  Assembly.  Much  less  does  it  indicate  any  lack  of 
proper  sense  of  morality  in  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

MORALITY  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES. 

It  is  interesting  to  cite  in  connection  with  this  matter  the 
statements  of  the  census  in  "Volume  II,  page  117: 

The  number  of  women  who  reported  themselves  prostitutes  was  470, 
nearly  all  of  whom  were  in  Manila.  Of  these,  7o  were  white,  nearly  all 
83083 — 11807 


31 


the  countries  of  Europe  beincc  represented  besides  the  United  States; 
•.“60,  or  more  than  half,  were  yellow,  practically  all  of  whom  were  Japa- 
nese ; and  only  141,  or  1 in  25,000  of  the  female  population  of  the 
islands,  were  Filipinos.  It  is  rather  extraordinary  that  in  this  Malay 
archipelago  seven-tenths  of  all  the  prostitutes  were  from  foreign  lands, 
a fact  which  speaks  volumes  for  the  chastity  of  the  Filipinos. 

Tliis  American-made  book  pays  the  highest  possible  tribute  to 
the  morality  of  the  people  of  the  Philippines,  and  is  a final 
answer  to  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania. 

LEGISLATIVE  MISTAKES  MADE  EVERYWHERE. 

But  even  admitting  that  the  assembly  had  passed  some  unwise 
legislation,  is  that  to  be  considered  a conclusive  proof  of  the 
incapacity  of  the  Filipinos  for  self-government?  Shall  it  be 
held  a ground  for  denying  them  their  God-given  right  to  inde- 
pendence? How  many  of  the  legislatures  of  the  different  States 
of  the  Union,  including  the  National  Congress,  have  made  mis- 
takes in  their  legislative  policies?  Is  there  any  legislature, 
whether  in  Europe,  America,  or  Asia,  free  from  mistakes?  If  I 
were  to  cite  instances,  I could  convict  every  country  on  earth 
of  lack  of  ability  for  self-government.  The  legislative  record 
of  the  assembly  is  indeed  most  extraordinary  if,  after  four 
regular  and  three  extra  sessions,  its  critics  have  found  but  two 
bills  to  criticize  out  of  hundreds  passed,  and  even  when  in  those 
instances  I have  shown  that  the  criticism  is  unwarranted. 

INDEPENDENCE  SHOULD  BE  GRANTED  AS  A MATTER  OP  JUSTICE. 

I have  dwelt  at  length  on  every  subject  touched  upon  by  both 
the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  and  the  gentleman  from  New 
York.  I have,  I think,  demonstrated  that  their  arguments 
against  Philippine  independence  are  baseless.  There  is,  in  fact, 
no  reason  for  withholding  the  exercise  of  the  sacred  right  of 
self-government  from  the  Filipinos  unless  it  be  the  determina- 
tion to  deprive  them  of  that  right.  We  have  given  in  every  case, 
when  we  have  been  afforded  the  opportunity,  proof  that  wo 
know  how  to  manage  our  own  affairs,  and  that  we  can  do  it 
better  than  anybody  can  do  it  for  us. 

We  do  not  seek  the  pity  of  the  American  people.  We  ask 
no  favor  from  them.  We  only  want  them  to  comply  with  the 
divine  rule,  “ Do  unto  others  what  you  would  that  others  should 
do  unto  you.”  The  gentleman  -from  New  York,  in  his  generosity, 
repeated  in  the  beginning  of  his  remarks  what  he  once  told  me, 
that  he  sought  for  his  people  no  freedom  that  he  does  not  want 
for  my  people.  If  he  means  what  he  says,  how  can  he  coun- 
tenance the  continuation  in  the  Philippines  of  American  sover- 
eignty for  a single  day  against  the  will  of  the  inhabitants 
when  he  certainly  does  not  intend  to  permit  his  own  country 
to  be  governed  by  a foreign  nation  for  one  minute?  He  desires 
that  the  Filipinos  shall  be  as  free  as  the  Americans.  And  yet 
we  are  not  as  free  as  the  Americans  are.  We  do  not  enjoy 
the  same  privileges  and  the  same  political  rights  that  they  do. 
They  have  their  own  flag.  We  have  none.  They  have  their 
own  Government,  administered  by  men  of  their  race  and  their 
selection.  We  have  not.  And  all  that  we  need  to  be  on  the 
same  footing  with  them  is  that  the  gentleman  from  New  York 
and  all  his  colleagues  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  in 
the  Senate  vote  for  a bill  granting  independence  to  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  [Applause.] 

83633— 1 1867 


o 


Photomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros.,  Inc. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.Y. 

Pat.  No.  877188 


